Disney Plus Price Increase in the UK: [ All you need to Know]

Disney-Plus-Price-UK

Brace yourself Disney subscribers in the UK! The Walt Disney Company has announced that a Disney Plus price increase in the UK is on the cards starting this December. Disney Plus and Hulu are getting steep price hikes in a bid to bolster the profitability of the Disney-owned online streaming business.

Disney Plus’s price increase date is said to be December 8, 2022, in the UK and in the United States. The new pricing plan includes an ad-supported Disney Plus version that will cost GBP£7/month, the price on which the ad-free Disney Plus plan is currently available. Consequently, the price of the ad-free Disney Plus package will take a 38% hike to GBP£9.63/month, an increase of GBP£2.63/month.

The imminent price hike means that Disney Plus annual price will also be revised, though still giving some discounts if you pay upfront for a year. The suggested pricing plan revamp will also affect the Disney bundle price. Although Disney is expanding its services worldwide, ballooning the subscriber base to 152 million, per user average revenue for the streaming service has declined by 5% recently.

Disney Plus bundle price increase in 2022 will see an ad-free Disney Plus and ad-supported Hulu + ESPN priced at GBP£14.99/month, a $1 increase from GBP£12.06/month. A new Disney bundle price is also introduced (only in the USA) that includes an ad-supported Disney Plus + Hulu plan that will cost GBP£8.58/month. However, the Disney Plus + Hulu + ESPN Plus bundle will still cost GBP£17.18/per month in the UK.

It is pertinent to mention that Disney Plus and its related streaming services are still geo-restricted and you will need the best Disney Plus VPN to access it if you are currently outside the US.

Stay put and don’t skip a word as we will reveal how to avoid Disney Plus Price increase.


Disney Plus Price increase in 2022 for Standalone Plans in the UK

Disney revealed its revamped streaming packages and their cost for the direct-to-consumer online streaming services as of December 8 in the United States. The revised standalone plans of Disney services are also for the UK which are as under:

Disney+, and ESPN+ Standalone Plans

  • Disney Plus Basic (with commercials): GBP£7.99/month (No annual plan)
  • Disney Plus Premium (no commercials): GBP£10.99/month or GBP£109.99/year (upfront)
  • **ESPN Plus+: GBP£8.58/month or GBP£85.92/year (upfront)

** ESPN Plus price hike will take effect from August 23.


Are subscribers happy with the Disney Plus Price increase in the UK?

As it seems, Disney subscribers in the UK will be required to spend a bit more in order to enjoy Disney Plus without commercials. Obviously, users are arguing about the worthiness of the subscription price increase on social media and if they fancy continuing to pay for Disney Plus or not in the UK.

Moreover, subscribers of Disney Plus Australia, the UK, Mexico, and Canada are also worried about the price hike in the US.

The overall response, as seen from the social media trends, looks mixed. Some fans are labeling the price increase justified and don’t mind paying more, while others are thoroughly examining whether keeping their Disney subscription in the UK will be good or not in the wake of an imminent recession in the United States.

@MediaVersePlus stated on Twitter, “I won’t lie. I love #Disney, but raising the #DisneyPlus price given the current economic climate was in extremely poor taste. 🤷🏽‍♂️ Something so many people rely on for entertainment at home during these tough times when we have like 3 pandemics going at once…#Marvel #StarWars”

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Is Disney Plus’s price increase a huge blunder in the UK?

The price increase is never welcomed by UK users and this bold move by Disney Plus will be unpopular and rightly so. As a matter of fact, with a rapidly growing subscriber base, Disney Plus UK seems to be falling into the same trap as some other popular streaming platforms, especially Netflix.

In the past year or so, Netflix made blunders after blunders by increasing its price repeatedly while also canceling a string of popular TV shows. Similarly, HBO Max, another content-laden streaming service, announced that it’s being merged with Discovery Plus. That makes Disney immune to botching up as well.

The price hike also implies that Disney has failed to cash on its popularity. The previous Disney Plus price increase was in March 2021 when the monthly subscription cost jumped only one dollar as compared to the recently announced price increase of $3/month, a 37.5% increase. The timing of the price increase makes this decision even worst.

The streaming wars have been intensifying recently and the market is more saturated than ever. A lot of new services have emerged lately with even Walmart deciding to jump on the bandwagon. Moreover, given the inflation rate and uprising living costs in the US, people are contemplating cutting unnecessary costs.

Nevertheless, a price hike isn’t a surprising move by Disney Plus. the former CEO of Disney Bob Iger had stated that the subscription price would likely increase with time. This looks like a desperate move by the media production company to cover up the huge gap in the profits and operational costs.


How to avoid Disney Plus Price increase in the UK?

As this bad news has fallen upon the Disney Plus subscribers in the UK of the price increase a few days back many users are shocked. The streaming giant announced a couple of days back that there will be a price increase in its streaming service charges from GBP£7 per month to GBP£9.63 per month.

However, if you want to avoid this price hike and increased fees of subscription, we may have a trick up our sleeves by which you can dodge paying the higher price of a subscription. If you are not a subscriber of Disney Plus and have been thinking about it for some time, simply lock the deal in the GBP£7 per month or GBP£70.12 for Disney Plus annual price in the UK, but you have to move fast and subscribe now!

Since the news came out of the price hikes of Disney Plus, the platform has gained 14.4 million new subscribers.

And if you are from the other type, a current member, you can best get benefits by opting for the Disney Plus annual Bundle option. The Disney Plus Bundle in UK has the best value to offer its consumers also, its price will only increase by $1, getting GBP£12.88 per month from GBP£12.02 per month. This bundle includes the ad-free Disney Plus along with ad-supported Hulu/ESPN Plus. With only a GBP£1 price hike, the Disney Plus bundle price increase in the UK in 2022 will not be a problem at all.


FAQs

Yes, Disney Plus is planning to increase its prices to maximize the growth scale. Disney Plus is going to raise the monthly subscription charges by GBP£3 to GBP£10.99 for its users in the UK starting this December. Disney will also introduce an ad-supported version as well that will cost GBP£7.99.

According to the explanation by Disney, due to the rising costs of programming and production for Disney Plus, additionally, the higher costs of sports programming at ESPN Plus, added up to the losses.
The statement read: “Direct-to-Consumer revenues for the quarter increased 19% to $5.1 billion and operating loss increased $0.8 billion to $1.1 billion. The increase in operating loss was due to a higher loss at Disney+, lower operating income at Hulu, and, to a lesser extent, a higher loss at ESPN+.” Hopefully, your question ‘why did Disney Plus increase price in the UK and all over the world‘ is answered.

The reason behind the rise in the subscription price of Disney+ Hotstar premium is pretty simple. With only GBP£6.87/month on top of a meager additional internet cost, subscribers are having access to a lot of premium TV shows and movies, which is not very beneficial for the providers. So to raise profits, they have increased the premium subscription prices.


Conclusion

The Disney Plus price increase in the UK was imminent and it seems the subscribers aren’t surprised much. However, this could well prove to be a bad decision by the streaming service in the longer run.

No doubt, Disney brings a whole lot of impressive content through its Disney Plus and Hulu streaming services. In addition, ESPN Plus on Disney Plus in UK is home to the live coverage of several mega sporting events. But given the fact that the US is potentially heading to a recession phase, this move isn’t a wise decision at all.

 

 

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Christina William

An avid traveler, always thrilled with the idea of exploring new places, Christina loves to strike off destinations from her bucket list whenever she gets an opportunity. Two constants of her life, whether at home or on the go, are Disney and Marvel shows and movies.

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