Disney+, Clearing 86 Million Subscribers, Plans March Price Hike

Disney+ will raise its U.S. price to $7.99 a month as the company invests heavily in more original programming and pushes to significantly increase its international subscription footprint. The price hike, which goes into effect on March 26, 2021, was announced during a news-packed, four-hour virtual presentation to investors Thursday. The new $7.99 per month price, or $79.99 per year for an annual subscription, means the Disney+ bundle, which includes Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, will also cost more. That bundle will now be priced at $13.99 per month. The move comes amid a remarkable pace of growth for the burgeoning streaming service that has quickly become one of the most successful examples of a traditional media company transitioning to streaming. Disney’s direct-to-consumer business has remained the most pandemic-proof part of its business, as in-person parks and experiences, theatrical revenue and traditional television advertising have been battered by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. And Disney+, which only debuted in November 2019, is still seeing remarkable early growth. The streaming service had 86.8 million subscribers as of Dec. 2 — adding 13 million subscribers in the last two months alone. About 30% of those subscribers come to the service through Disney+ Hotstar — a sign of the strength of that brand internationally. "Needless to say, Disney+ has exceeded our wildest expectations,” Disney CEO Bob Chapek said at Thursday's event. “This success has bolstered our confidence in our continued acceleration towards a DTC-first business model. And more importantly, it's launched the Walt Disney Company into a new era of delivering consumers truly exceptional entertainment built around our world-renowned brands and franchises.” Across all Disney streaming properties, the company boasts 137 million subscribers. In addition to Disney+, Hulu counts 38.8 million subscribers while ESPN+ has 11.5 million. Disney now expects to have between 230-260 million Disney+ subscribers by fiscal 2024 — an eye-popping new projection that’s about three times more than the company’s initial projections offered about a year ago. Overall, Disney hopes to have between 300-350 million subscribers for all of its streaming services by fiscal year 2024, said chief financial officer Christine McCarthy. Those huge numbers come with pressure for the company to offer up new programming that can keep customers coming back. The stress is especially great in its attempts to appeal to viewers without children. Disney is hoping its line-up of upcoming shows will help deliver on those fronts. Over the next several years, Disney+ will have 10 Star Wars series, 10 Marvel series, 15 live-action and animated projects from other Disney properties, and 15 live-action and animated feature films, said Kareem Daniel, Chairman of Disney’s media and entertainment distribution. Daniel was promoted in October as part of a major streaming-centric restructuring. “Since streaming has quickly become a preferred method of consumption, we are prioritizing our DTC platforms, both in terms of how we distribute our content, and also through our increased investment in original programming for Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ and our upcoming Star-branded international general entertainment offering,” Daniel said. “Significantly ramping up production for these services will not only accelerate the growth of our DTC businesses, but also solidify our deep and very personal relationship with consumers globally.” Among the dozens of new projects several are from the Star Wars universe, including Rangers of the New Republic, Ahsoka and Lando, new Marvel series include Secret Invasion, Ironheart, Armor Wars and a Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. There are the sequels, prequels and spinoff series and films based on The Lion King, Hocus Pocus, The Mighty Duck, Moana and more. The company previewed first footage and detailed new line-ups of programming, including a major deal with ESPN to bring SEC college football games to ABC in 2024 and to ESPN+ as soon as next year. Disney is aiming to debut more than 100 new titles on Disney+ per year, executive chairman and former CEO Bob Iger said, a cadence of about two new shows and movies per week. “The enormous success of Disney+ has inspired us to be even more ambitious, and the pipeline of original programming is much more robust than we initially anticipated,” Iger said. On the Hulu side, the streamer has inked a deal with the Kardashian family for a new reality series, just as the stars’ long-running linear show, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, ends its 14-year run on E! next year. On FX on Hulu, new originals are coming, including an Alien series from Fargo creator Noah Hawley. And Hulu will get another addition of its own: ESPN+ will become available as a paid add-on from within the Hulu interface beginning early next year, Hulu CEO Kelly Campbell announced. Disney is also planning on taking a page out of WarnerMedia’s playbook for upcoming animated film Raya and the Last Dragon, which will debut in theaters and as premium titles on Disney+ on March 5, 2021. But unlike WarnerMedia, Disney made no broad announcements about how their full 2021 slate of films may be released. In addition to massively expanded programming, Disney executives detailed the entertainment giant’s plan to grow internationally. That project calls for expanding Disney+ with more general-purpose content under the Star brand. Disney took on ownership of Mumbai-based Star and Hotstar in 2019 as part of its acquisition of 21st Century Fox. In continental Europe, Canada and New Zealand, Star will appear as a separate branded tile within the Disney+ interface starting February 23, 2021. But it comes with a catch: Disney+’s price will increase in those markets by €2, to €8.99, to account for the injection of programming, much of which will be locked behind parental controls. In other markets, like Latin America, Disney will debut a standalone service, Star+ in June 2021. That service will include sports, news and general-purpose programming, as well as local content. That standalone offering will be packaged as part of a Disney+ bundle. The company expects most customers to choose the bundled option. The fast-paced international expansion comes as entertainment companies look to find a foothold in international markets. The frantic pace to bulk up international offerings comes as ViacomCBS is also readying an international plan; lifestyle programmer Discovery is also debuting Discovery+ in early 2021, which aims to have broad international appeal.