ESPN+ will increase its monthly and annual subscription prices beginning in August, marking the second price hike for the Disney-owned service in the last year, a company spokesperson confirmed on Friday.
Beginning on Aug. 23, ESPN+ will cost $9.99 a month and $99.99 a year, up from its current price of $6.99 a month and $69.99 a year. The subscription service last increased its prices in August 2021 by a smaller increment, going up from $5.99 a month and $59.99 a year to the current price.
The Disney bundle, which starts at $13.99 a month for Disney+, Hulu with ads and ESPN+, will remain the same price. UFC pay-per-view events will also remain unchanged.
A regular subscription price increase has become somewhat expected at Disney as the company seeks to boost its streaming revenue after enticing users with lower prices following the initial launches of Disney+ and ESPN+.
Disney executives have also signaled plans to transition its linear ESPN channel to a direct-to-consumer offering, though Disney CFO Christine McCarthy has said it “doesn’t make any sense to just port over all of those linear rights” to ESPN+ as it is today, especially “at the price point that it currently is.”
As of this past April, ESPN+ has 22.3 million subscribers. The service has the lowest average monthly revenue per user, clocking in at $4.73 compared to Disney+’s $6.32 (in the U.S. and Canada) and Hulu’s $12.77 for the ad tier.
Disney has also continued spending on expanded rights with major leagues like the NFL, NHL, PGA and for major events like Wimbledon and the Australian Open.
