Disney+ Announces Price Increase for Streaming Customers in 2021

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If you’re a Disney+ subscriber, be prepared to pay more for the streaming service starting next year.

The popular video streaming service will be increasing the prices of its monthly subscriptions in 2021, according to an announcement made at the Walt Disney Company Investor Day on December 10, 2020.

But there is a silver lining: This pricing change was paired with a content announcement that will make some fans of Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, and Disney originals very happy.


Disney’s Pricing for Disney+ Will Change Soon

Beginning March 26, 2021, Disney+ will be priced in the U.S. at $7.99 per month or $79.99 per year.

That’s an increase of $1 per month on the monthly subscription and $10 per year on the annual rate. As things stand now, you can sign up for the service for either $6.99 per month or $69.99 per year.

Disney also plans to increase the price of its popular Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu bundle from $12.99 per month to $13.99 per month.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the announced changes:

Subscription TypePricing through March 25, 2021Pricing on March 26, 2021 and beyond
Monthly Subscription$6.99$7.99
Annual Subscription$69.99$79.99
Hulu, ESPN+ Bundle$12.99 per month$13.99 per month

If you are a Disney+ loyalist and want to lock in the best pricing, it may make sense to consider re-upping an annual subscription before March 26. That way you can get the effective monthly rate of $5.83 that the current annual price offers for as long as possible.


Exciting New Content is Coming to Disney+

It’s not all bad news.

The price increase information came as a side note to a bigger announcement on Disney’s aggressive plans to grow its original content library.

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As a part of the Investor Day presentation, Disney revealed that it will be releasing 100+ new original content titles on the platform for each of the next few years.

New Star Wars Content

If you’re a fan of the Disney+ hit Mandolorian, the good news is that it appears to be just the beginning for original Star Wars content on the platform.

Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy made some big announcements on new Star Wars/Disney+ projects at the Investor Day event.

“We have a vast and expansive timeline in the Star Wars mythology spanning over 25,000 years of history in the galaxy — with each era being a rich resource for
storytelling,” Kennedy said.

“Now with Disney+, we can explore limitless story possibilities like never before and fulfill the promise that there is truly a Star Wars story for everyone.”

More of the juicy details from the Disney+ news release:

Among the 10 projects announced for Disney+ is “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” starring Ewan McGregor, with Hayden Christensen returning as Darth Vader, in what Kennedy called, “the rematch of the century.” Also announced are two new series from Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, off-shoots of the multiple Emmy®-winning “The Mandalorian.” “Rangers of the New Republic” and “Ahsoka,” a series featuring the fan-favorite character Ahsoka Tano, will take place in “The Mandalorian” timeline.

New Marvel Content

For fans of the superhero genre, Disney announced there will be more than a dozen new Marvel projects slated for Disney+ in the near future.

These will include stars such as Samuel L. Jackson and Don Cheadle. More details from the news release:

Among dozens of upcoming projects, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige revealed three new series for Disney+, including the Samuel L. Jackson-starrer “Secret Invasion,” “Ironheart” with Dominique Thorne as a genius inventor, and “Armor Wars,” starring Don Cheadle as James Rhodes aka War Machine who faces Tony Stark’s worst fears.

Disney Favorites Getting A New Twist on Disney+

Even if you’re not a Star Wars junkie, there’s still plenty to get excited about.

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Here’s a look at some of the other projects Disney+ announced:

  • Hocus Pocus 2: The sequel to the 1993 cult classic is slated for a Disney+ exclusive release.
  • Three Men and a Baby: Zac Efron will star in a remake of the 1980s favorite. This one is slated for a 2022 release on Disney+.
  • Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Disney announced that it will have a new, full-length animated film from the popular book series available in 2021.
  • The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild: This is a spinoff of the popular Ice Age movie series set to premiere in early 2022.
  • Night at the Museum: There will be a new, animated take on this popular Ben Stiller film trilogy.
  • Sister Act 3: Whoopi Goldberg is on board for a third installment of this movie series. It will be directed by Tyler Perry and released on Disney+.
  • Chip N’ Dale: Rescue Rangers: Disney is turning the popular cartoon chipmunks’ adventures into a hybrid live-action, animated feature. It will be available in 2022.
  • Pinocchio: Disney+ is teasing a new live-action retelling that “will leverage state-of-the art CGI to bring Pinocchio to life.”
  • Peter Pan & Wendy: Jude Law will play Captain Hook in this Disney+ spinoff of the classic Peter Pan storyline.

Final Thought

While the news of a price increase is never good for your wallet, this was one that you could see coming from a mile away.

Since launching Disney+ in late 2019, Disney has been pretty transparent about its pricing practices. The company indicated that it was intentionally “underpricing” the video streaming service in the beginning, as an effort to draw consumers away from Netflix. And with more than 86 million paid subscribers in just over a year, it seems that idea worked.

Gradually stepping up the pricing was presumably always a part of Disney’s long-term plan.

So with that in mind, it’s hard to be too upset about a $1 per month increase that comes with the announcement of so many original content projects that will be available as a part of the subscription. In fact, some consumers might argue that these new movies and series are more than worth an additional dollar per month.

At $7.99 per month or $79.99 per year, Disney+ remains one of the top values in the video streaming services market space.

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