Walt Disney is raising prices on its ESPN+ sports streaming service as the company faces rising costs to acquire sports programming.
Photo:
Gabby Jones/Bloomberg News
Walt Disney Co.
is significantly raising the price of its ESPN+ service next month, a blow to cord-cutters looking to save money by streaming sports programming.
The price increases, which go into effect Aug. 23, amount to 43%, rising to $9.99 a month from $6.99 currently, and $99.99 a year from $69.99. The entertainment company said subscribers will be notified next week.
The Burbank, Calif.-based company said the change in price reflects the increased scale and value of ESPN+ as it adds more content to the platform amid competition from new entrants. It also comes as
Disney
DIS 3.66%
and others face rising costs to acquire sports programming.
Disney
DIS 3.66%
noted that the price change doesn’t impact the price for its Disney bundle—which includes Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu and costs $13.99 a month—or Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view events at this time.
The planned price increase comes right as the cost of inflation continues to weigh on consumers and businesses. U.S. consumer inflation accelerated to 9.1% in June, the highest level in more than four decades, adding pressure on the Federal Reserve to aggressively tamp down rising prices.
Disney said it had 22.3 million paid subscribers for ESPN+, which streams some live events from National Football League, National Hockey League and more and includes other original programming, in its most recent quarter. But Disney recorded higher operating losses at its direct-to-consumer segments, citing higher losses at Disney+ and ESPN+ as well as lower operating income at Hulu.
The company said lower results at ESPN+ were due to higher sports programming costs and a decrease in income from UFC pay-per-view events. That was partially offset by an increase in subscription revenue from more users.
Disney will report results from the current quarter on Aug. 10.
The news is the latest development to alter the streaming landscape.
Netflix Inc.
on Wednesday said it chose
Microsoft Corp.
to help launch a low-cost, advertising supported streaming plan in an effort to boost subscription growth and generate a new stream of revenue.
Write to Denny Jacob at denny.jacob@wsj.com
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Appeared in the July 16, 2022, print edition as ‘Disney Set to Raise Prices For ESPN Streaming Service.’
Walt Disney is raising prices on its ESPN+ sports streaming service as the company faces rising costs to acquire sports programming.
Photo:
Gabby Jones/Bloomberg News
Walt Disney Co.
is significantly raising the price of its ESPN+ service next month, a blow to cord-cutters looking to save money by streaming sports programming.
The price increases, which go into effect Aug. 23, amount to 43%, rising to $9.99 a month from $6.99 currently, and $99.99 a year from $69.99. The entertainment company said subscribers will be notified next week.
The Burbank, Calif.-based company said the change in price reflects the increased scale and value of ESPN+ as it adds more content to the platform amid competition from new entrants. It also comes as
Disney
DIS 3.66%
and others face rising costs to acquire sports programming.
Disney
DIS 3.66%
noted that the price change doesn’t impact the price for its Disney bundle—which includes Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu and costs $13.99 a month—or Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view events at this time.
The planned price increase comes right as the cost of inflation continues to weigh on consumers and businesses. U.S. consumer inflation accelerated to 9.1% in June, the highest level in more than four decades, adding pressure on the Federal Reserve to aggressively tamp down rising prices.
Disney said it had 22.3 million paid subscribers for ESPN+, which streams some live events from National Football League, National Hockey League and more and includes other original programming, in its most recent quarter. But Disney recorded higher operating losses at its direct-to-consumer segments, citing higher losses at Disney+ and ESPN+ as well as lower operating income at Hulu.
The company said lower results at ESPN+ were due to higher sports programming costs and a decrease in income from UFC pay-per-view events. That was partially offset by an increase in subscription revenue from more users.
Disney will report results from the current quarter on Aug. 10.
The news is the latest development to alter the streaming landscape.
Netflix Inc.
on Wednesday said it chose
Microsoft Corp.
to help launch a low-cost, advertising supported streaming plan in an effort to boost subscription growth and generate a new stream of revenue.
Write to Denny Jacob at denny.jacob@wsj.com
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Appeared in the July 16, 2022, print edition as ‘Disney Set to Raise Prices For ESPN Streaming Service.’