Following Netflix, Disney+ Raised Its Price for the First Time to $8 Per Month from March 2021

Recently, Disney’s streaming service Disney+ has seen a rapid growth in its subscribers. In “Investors’ Day” on Thursday, the company revealed that the platform now has 86.8 million subscribers, higher than 73 million revealed at the fourth fiscal quarter. Disney’s share rose 3% after the news got about.

Bob Iger, Disney’s chairman and former chief executive officer, said Disney’s new strategy will focus on the streaming service of one-year subscription of Disney+, which was “more about quality than quantity”. Mr. Iger, who step down as chief executive officer nine months ago, is more willing to concentrate on content. He said “quality is more valuable”.

During the demonstration on “Investors’ Day”, Disney provided the vision and the latest news about its three major streaming services, including the new Star Wars films and the Alien movies on Hulu.

Following Netflix, Disney+ is going to raise the price for its users by $1, which will become $7.99 per month in the United States. Previously, Disney gave a lengthy demonstration of what Disney would add to Disney+. And the new price will be implemented from March 26, 2021, at $7.99 per month or $79.99 per year. In addition, Disney’s package services, including Disney Plus, Hulu and ESPN Plus, will rise by $1, reaching $13.99 a month.

The company’s losses from the investment in content has to be made up by raising the price. This is the first time Disney+ has raised its price. A few months before Disney+ made an announcement about the price increase, Netflix declared a price increase for U.S. users, including raising the price of its most popular package from $13 to $14 per month.

It seemed too early for Disney+ to raise its price, but when Disney+ announced to increase its price, many TV programs and movies were also added to the platform. The more it invests in Disney’s content, the more it needs to earn. When asked about price hikes, Greg Peters, Netflix’s chief operating officer and chief product officer, said Netflix “occasionally asks users to pay more to maintain a benignant cycle of investment and value creation.” Disney is doing the same thing now.

At present, it is not clear whether Disney+ in other countries will raise prices or not, and it is also not clear whether it will affect package services.