Disney+ is shaking things up again, and our friends across the pond will be feeling the pinch first: this week, the streaming giant announced a fresh round of price hikes for US subscribers, set to kick in this October.
But before you breathe a sigh of relief, UK viewers, history suggests we might not be far behind.
While there’s no official word on price changes for British subscribers just yet, Disney+’s past form hints at what could be coming our way.
Remember last year’s pricing overhaul? It’s a pattern we’ve seen before: US prices go up, and the UK often follows suit later.
And in addition to the upcoming pricing changes, the anticipated password-sharing restrictions, which have a timeline now, add another element to consider – so here’s everything you need to know ahead of Disney+’s changes.
Disney+ UK Price Shake-Ups
When Disney+ first arrived in the UK in March 2020, it offered a single, competitive pricing tier of £5.99/month or £59.99 per year.
This initial offering included 4K streaming, four concurrent streams, and ad-free viewing, providing excellent value for subscribers (but the Star category wasn’t part of Disney+ at the time, so more adult-oriented content was not part of the service yet).
However, in February 2021, coinciding with the launch of Star, a new content hub featuring more mature content, Disney+ implemented its first price hike.
The monthly fee increased to £7.99, while the annual subscription rose to £79.90.
Despite this increase, the service maintained its 4K quality, four concurrent streams, and ad-free model, still representing good value given the expanded content library.
The most significant change came on November 1, 2023, when Disney+ introduced a new three-tier system:
Standard with Ads: £4.99/month, offering Full HD quality and two concurrent streams, but with adverts and no downloads.
Standard: £7.99/month or £79.90/year, providing Full HD quality, two streams, and download capability.
Premium: £10.99/month or £109.90/year, featuring 4K UHD & HDR quality, four streams, Dolby Atmos audio, and downloads.
While these new tiers introduced a more affordable ad-supported option, it also meant that existing subscribers who wanted to maintain the same level of service (4K quality and four concurrent streams) faced a substantial 37.5% price increase.
The 2024 US Price Hike
This week, Disney announced that come October 17, 2024, US subscribers will see another round of price increases:
- Disney+ Basic (with adverts): Increasing from $7.99 to $9.99 per month
- Disney+ Premium: Rising from $13.99 to $15.99 per month
Additionally, Disney is adjusting prices for its other US-exclusive services, with ESPN+ increasing by $1 to $11.99 per month, and Hulu With Live TV seeing a $6 hike (since Disney+ in the US doesn’t include Star – Hulu is its replacement of sorts, and is available in a bundle with Disney+).
Potential UK Increases?
In August 2022, Disney+ US first announced the launch of its ad-supported tier and the accompanying price increase. About a year later, those increases jumped to our side of the pond.
Now that another increase has been announced in the US – if the pattern holds, UK subscribers might see similar increases sometime in 2025 (if not earlier).
Based on the US changes, we could speculate that:
- The Standard with Ads tier might increase from £4.99 to around £5.99 or £6.99 per month.
- The Premium tier could potentially rise to £12.99 or even £13.99 per month.
However, it’s important to note that these are speculative figures, and the actual changes, if any, may differ.
Password Sharing Crackdown Coming
Disney has been discussing stricter controls on password sharing for some time now. In its earnings call this week, it was announced that this crackdown will start next month.
So, from September 2024, the company plans to enforce its “household-only” sharing policy more rigorously in several countries – including the UK, where the subscriber’s agreement has already changed to accommodate these steps.
As we previously reported, to accommodate users who wish to share their accounts legally, Disney+ is introducing an “Extra Members” feature, similar to what Netflix is offering.
This will allow subscribers to add users outside their household for an additional fee. While exact pricing for this feature hasn’t been announced, based on Netflix’s model, it’s expected to be around £4.99 per extra member.
Extra Members will have their own profiles and logins but must be in the same country as the main account holder.
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