The Walt Disney Company announced plans to increase the prices of its streaming services, including Disney+ and bundles featuring Hulu and ESPN. Effective 21 October, the cost of the Disney+ and Hulu package will rise from $10.99 to $12.99. The ad-free plan for both services will remain at $19.99, while bundled plans that include Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN with ads will increase from $16.99 to $19.99.
The company has not commented beyond the announcement regarding the price hikes. In recent days, some consumers have reportedly reacted to the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show by canceling their subscriptions to Disney+ and its respective bundles. However, a Disney representative stated that the price increases were planned for months and were unrelated to the controversy surrounding Kimmel.
Kimmel was suspended following comments he made about the political implications of the death of Charlie Kirk. He remarked that the Make America Great Again movement was attempting to shift the narrative surrounding the incident. In response to these comments, Nexstar Media Group, which owns numerous ABC affiliates, decided to pull Kimmel’s show, describing his remarks as “offensive and insensitive” during a critical political moment. Disney subsequently chose to suspend the show under mounting political pressure from the Federal Communications Commission.
Reports indicate that the campaign encouraging viewers to cancel Disney+ has resulted in more subscriber losses than previous boycotts directed at other streaming services. This marks the fourth consecutive annual price increase for Disney+ since its launch in 2019, aligning it with other streaming platforms like Netflix and Peacock, both of which have implemented price hikes this year.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/sep/24/disney-price-increase-kimmel-suspension