In almost exactly one month, Disney will make major changes to its streaming service, Disney+. For the first time, customers will get to choose to pay less (or technically the same as they’re paying now) for a version of the service with commercials, or pay a few bucks extra for what they get now: Namely movies and shows without commercial interruption.
Here is how the new tiers and prices break down. These changes go into effect on December 8:
- Disney+ Basic (with ads): $7.99 a month
- Disney+ Premium (no ads): $10.99 a month / $109.99 a year
These changes will also filter down to changes with the “Disney Bundle,” which allows you to pay a flat fee for Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. Here’s how that bundle will now be priced:
- Disney Bundle Basic – Disney+ and Hulu (with ads): $9.99 a month
- Disney Bundle Basic – Disney+, Hulu, ESPN + (with ads): $12.99 a month
- Disney Bundle Premium – Disney+, Hulu (no ads), ESPN+ (with ads): $19.99
Disney first officially announced their plan to ad an ad-supported tier to Disney+ back in March. Their version with commercials comes just weeks after the company’s biggest streaming rival, Netflix, launched its own ad-supported tier. Netflix’s cheapest plan (which includes commercials) is less expensive than Disney+; it’s $6.99 versus $7.99. Its standard plan (which has no ads, but only 720p HD costs $9.99 a month versus Disney+’s $10.99 a month. (To get better picture quality on Netflix, you have to pay either $15.49 a month or $19.99 a month for 4K resolution.)
All these new options for Disney+ go into effect on December 8. You’ve got until then to decide whether to pay the same price and sit through ads, or pay extra to watch Andor or She-Hulk with commercials, or to cancel entirely.
