Disney to increase prices for streaming customers who want to watch without advertisements

11 Aug 2022 , 10:19 AM

After overtaking Netflix Inc. with a total of 221 million streaming users, Disney Co. stated it will increase pricing for individuals who wish to watch Disney+ or Hulu without advertisements.

When it starts to offer a brand-new option that includes advertisements at the existing price in December, the media behemoth will increase the monthly cost of Disney+ without advertising by 38% to $10.99.

On Wednesday, Disney stock increased 6.9% to $120.15 in after-hours trading.

In 2017, Disney bet its future on developing a streaming service to compete with Netflix as viewers shifted away from traditional cable and broadcast television in favor of internet viewing.

Five years later, Disney has surpassed Netflix in terms of total streaming subscribers. The debut of the “Star Wars” television series “Obi-Wan Kenobi” and the Marvel film “Ms. Marvel” resulted in a 14.4 million increase in Disney+ subscribers, exceeding the consensus expectation of 10 million analysts surveyed by FactSet.

At the end of the June quarter, Disney reported having 221.1 million streaming customers across Hulu, ESPN+, and other platforms. According to Netflix, there are 220.7 million streaming members.