Disney Raises Price for Hulu Streaming Service by $1 a Month

(Bloomberg) -- Walt Disney Co. raised the price of its Hulu streaming service by $1 -- to $7 a month for the version that has advertising and to $14 a month without ads. 

The increases go into effect Oct. 8, the company said Tuesday in an emailed statement. A bundle that includes Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+ remains $14 a month, the company said.

Disney has now raised prices for all three of its streaming services this year, with each increasing by $1. Disney+, the flagship service, increased to $8 a month in March, while the ESPN+ sports product rose to $7 a month in August.

The company, which has more than 173 million customers for the services, is capitalizing on increased demand while looking at the same time to offset programming costs. Those include pricey sports rights, as well as major Hollywood films that have gone straight to streaming as a result of the pandemic.

The bundled offering matches rival Netflix Inc.’s $14 standard package. Disney has also introduced a new marketing campaign to promote that bundle. 

Disney rose 1.9% to $184.40 at 1:17 p.m. New York time, buoyed by strong results from the weekend release of the Marvel film “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” along with the price increase.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.