This post was originally published on this site
It’s soon going to cost $1 more a month to watch your favorite Marvel, Pixar and “Star Wars” stuff.
Disney+ is raising its monthly price from $6.99 a month to $7.99 a month in the U.S. starting Friday, March 26. The annual subscription price will rise too, from $69.99 a year to $79.99 a year. And so will the three-way Disney bundle of Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, which will rise $1 to $13.99 a month.
But budget-minded subscribers looking for a deal will still be able to lock in an annual subscription at the current price — saving $10 — if they sign up before Friday.
Also see: Monthly streaming picks at What’s Worth Streaming
It’s the first price hike since the Walt Disney Co.
DIS,
launched its streaming service in fall 2019. The increases were first announced in December.
Disney is betting that the increase won’t be enough to drive away viewers. The rapidly growing service topped 100 million subscribers in March, Disney said, thanks to hit series like the “Star Wars” spinoff “The Mandalorian” and Marvel spinoffs “WandaVision” and “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.”
Though its library is much smaller, at $7.99 a month Disney+ is significantly cheaper than rival Netflix Inc.
NFLX,
which recently raised its most popular subscription plan to $13.99 a month, and AT&T’s
T,
HBO Max, at $14.99 a month.
On Tuesday, Disney rejiggered its upcoming movie-release schedule, announcing Scarlett Johansson’s “Avengers” spinoff movie “Black Widow” and Emma Stone’s live-action “Cruella” will stream for an additional $30 for Disney+ subscribers the same day they hit theaters this summer, and the Pixar animated movie “Luca” will stream on Disney+ for no additional fee starting June 18.
