Disney+ has been a big piece of Disney’s business over the past year, especially with the global health crisis shutting down other divisions.
Disney+ Bus
With a library full of iconic Disney flicks and original content available now and on the horizon, it’s no wonder that Disney+ has seen significant success since its initial launch last year. With things going so well for the streaming service, could we see a price increase in the future? Let’s take a look.
During the 2020 Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference, Bank of America Securities Managing Director Jessica Reif Ehrlich sat down with Walt Disney Company Senior Executive Vice President & CFO Christine McCarthy to talk about the Disney Company’s current situation and plans for the future.
Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney
On the subject of Disney+, Ehrlich posed the question, “When does it make sense to raise prices?” To this, McCarthy noted that prices will likely go up in the future. “It’s clear that we priced Disney+ at a very accessible price point initially,” she noted.
Though unrelated to the overall price of the service, Disney has already implemented a premium access pricing model for the release of Mulan on Disney+ for an additional price point. This is a change, McCarthy explains, that came as a direct adjustment in response to business disruptions from the crisis.
©Disney
The price increase will come as the volume of content increases on the service. McCarthy noted that there would be more original content now had the global health crisis not gotten in the way. She noted that several projects were set to be put into production that have now been slowed because of COVID-19. Still, Disney+ will continue to have a focus on original content going forward.
McCarthy explained that “When more content is on the service, we’ll have some pricing power.” From there, the company may adjust pricing, although it won’t necessarily be adjusted equally across all of the markets — especially those outside of the US.
©Disney
Hmm, how interesting! It certainly seems like a price increase is in the future for Disney+, although it may be some time before we see it. According to McCarthy, it all depends on the content that’s offered. Stay tuned to DFB for the latest updates from the Walt Disney Company!
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OK, I subscribed to Disney+ for Hamilton and stayed for The Mandalorian. Sure, there were some Disney movies we watched too — like Onward and Moana — but there’s a point when a price increase MAY force us to cancel the service. We still have a cable bill, Internet bill, mortgage, medical costs, food costs, etc. etc. etc. so if the “Disney Accountants” get greedy, then goodbye. We all aren’t rich like Disney Execs.
What about those of us through D23 who bought a subscription for three years. Would we be fine?
Alex, I’m not sure about this. We’ll have to see how this unfolds.