Disney will raise the price of ESPN+ to $7 starting in August

By Blair Marnell Published July 13, 2021

For only the third time since its launch in 2018, the price of the ESPN+ streaming service is going up. Disney has announced that as of August 13, the monthly price of ESPN+ will go from $6 a month to $7. Additionally, ESPN+ annual subscribers will now pay $70 a year, up from $60.

However, there is some good news for subscribers who get ESPN+ through the Disney Bundle alongside Hulu and Disney+. The Disney Bundle price will remain at $14 per month. Disney has also confirmed that the exclusive Ultimate Fighting Championship PPVs on ESPN+ will also be spared from a price increase.

Recommended Videos

CNBC shed some light on why Disney is raising the price of ESPN+. According to the report, the $7 price point is still below the $9 per month that ESPN gets from traditional cable subscribers. That means that Disney is actually losing money on fans who cancel their cable accounts in favor of subscribing to ESPN+. The loss of TV commercial revenue also makes ESPN+ less lucrative than the cable channel that originally spawned it.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

ESPN+ does have added value for its most passionate sports fans, thanks to the Insider articles available exclusively on ESPN.com. Regardless, Disney and ESPN are also giving viewers even bigger incentives to subscribe to the streaming service. When the NFL renewed its deal with ESPN for the next 11 years of Monday Night Football, ESPN retained the rights to stream every one of those games on ESPN+. CNBC also notes that ESPN’s recent deal with the NHL will give ESPN+ subscribers the chance to stream 75 games that are exclusive to the platform. And for tennis fans, ESPN and ESPN+ will continue airing the famed Wimbledon tournament for an additional 12 years.

While ESPN+ currently has somewhere around 13.8 million subscribers, the primary value to its parent company may still be the Disney Bundle. Disney+ is clearly the company’s flagship streaming service with over 100 million subscribers, while Hulu is in a distant second at just over 40 million subscribers. If ESPN+ can continue to entice sports fans to subscribe to the bundle, then it will also push the numbers up for both of its corporate siblings. In the end, that may be Disney’s preferred outcome.

Topics

Blair Marnell has been an entertainment journalist for over 15 years. His bylines have appeared in Wizard Magazine, Geek…

Audio / Video

Hulu Plus Live TV: plans, price, channels, bundles, and more

Hulu with Live TV.

If you want to cut the cable but you aren't ready to let go entirely, one of the best live TV streaming services out there is Hulu Plus Live TV. Billed as a Multichannel Video Programming Distributor (MVPD), Hulu Plus Live TV (also referred to as Hulu With Live TV) provides many of the features you've come to expect from your cable package. Along with live TV, you get access to Hulu's streaming library which includes thousands of hours of video including existing favorites, alongside original programming like The Bear and The Handmaiden's Tale. Since Hulu is owned by Disney, you can even bundle Hulu Plus Live TV with Disney Plus and ESPN+ for even more content.

There’s plenty to learn about Hulu Plus Live TV, and we’ve compiled all the most salient information into this helpful explainer. And do be sure to check back often, as Hulu With Live TV pricing and capabilities have been known to change in the blink of an eye.

Entertainment

If you have to watch one Disney+ movie in June 2024, stream this one

George Clooney in Tomorrowland.

Right now, Disney+ is kind of like the kid in school who lets his older brother do all of his homework for him. In this analogy, Hulu is the older brother, because it's bringing most of the movies to Disney+, which gets to take all of the credit. But this month, there's a movie that's finally returned to Disney+ after inexplicably spending years in limbo. Now that Tomorrowland is back, we're officially naming it the one Disney+ movie you have to watch in June 2024. And after its quick exit the last time it was on Disney+, we can't guarantee that the film will be sticking around for long.

Tomorrowland was co-written and directed by Brad Bird, who made his name in animation with The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and The Iron Giant. It was also one of Disney's attempts to turn one of its theme park attractions into a blockbuster franchise. So far, that trick has only ever worked for the Pirates of the Caribbean films.

Entertainment

If you have to watch one Disney+ movie this May, stream this one

A mermaid sits in a bathtub in Aquamarine.

Disney+ subscribers have almost certainly noticed by now that this month's selection of new movies is abysmal if you don't also have a Hulu subscription. While Disney CEO Bob Iger recently crowed to investors that Disney+ is now profitable, he neglected to mention that the streamer only achieved that status because the programming has been severely cut. Unless you really love documentaries about The Beatles, Queen, The Beach Boys, or Jim Henson, there are literally no other new movies on Disney+ in May beyond the offerings from Hulu.

Because of the Hulu integration, it's now even harder to find a movie on Disney+ (outside of the major Disney brands) that you can actually watch with the original subscription that you paid for. That's something Disney+ subscribers should be very upset about. But even with these misguided content decisions, if you have to watch one Disney+ movie this May, then the film to stream is a 2006 romantic comedy/fantasy called Aquamarine, which is based on the book by Alice Hoffman. It's not actually a Disney film, but fans of The Little Mermaid may recognize certain aspects of the plot. If you're looking for reasons to watch Aquamarine, we've got a few to share.
Sara Paxton is charming as the title character