Facepalm: The PR surrounding Disney probably could not get much worse. Days after a potential boycott prompted the company to reverse its decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel Live!, a price increase for multiple streaming tiers could intensify matters. Sources informed The Handbasket that the two factors are related.
Starting October 23, Disney+ will increase its subscription prices yet again. The decision, likely scheduled far in advance, now seems ill-timed following accusations that the company bowed to government censorship.
| Tier | Ads | Old Price | New Price | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disney+ | Yes | $10 | $12 | $2 |
| Disney+ Premium | No | $16 | $19 | $3 |
| Disney+ Hulu Bundle | Yes | $11 | $13 | $2 |
| Disney+ Hulu Premium Bundle | No | $20 | $20 | $0 |
| Hulu Premium | No | $19 | $19 | $0 |
| Hulu + Live TV | Yes | $83 | $90 | $7 |
Disney+ previously saw hikes in December 2022, October 2023, and last October. Following the upcoming increase, the basic ad-supported tier will cost nearly double the service’s original $7 subscription.
Before Vulture broke the news, sources informed The Handbasket that the then-imminent announcement pushed Disney to resume hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live! following the outrage over the show’s indefinite suspension.
Disney pulled the program after Kimmel’s on-air criticism of the political response to Charlie Kirk’s shooting. Soon afterward, an online petition demanding the comedian’s reinstatement reached 90,000 signatures, and around 400 celebrities signed an open letter supporting Kimmel.
Kimmel: “Disney has asked me to read the following statement and I agreed to do it. ‘To reactivate your Disney+ and Hulu account … ‘” pic.twitter.com/sr2ATVSpIR
– Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 24, 2025
The service reportedly lost over a million subscribers. Despite the late-night talk show’s resumption, the price hike will likely vindicate many boycotters. Coincidentally, Disney also recently released the first teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, a feature-length follow-up to the hit Disney+ series, The Mandalorian, which completed its third and final season in 2023.
In recent years, most major streaming services, including Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and HBO Max, have raised prices, introduced ads, and restricted password sharing to increase profitability. Nielsen data in July showed that Netflix, the service that popularized streaming, still easily leads the pack, hosting approximately half of the most-watched programs. This represents a sharp decline from 2021, when the service hosted 80 percent of them, indicating that the competition is gaining ground.
HBO Max and Netflix tied for the most awards at the 2025 Emmys, with 30 each. HBO’s top winners were The Penguin and The Pitt, while Netflix stormed the awards ceremony with Adolescence and Arcane. Disney+ ranked fifth following wins by Andor and two music documentaries about John Williams and the Beatles.
Disclaimer: The story “Disney to hike streaming prices again next month by up to $7” first appeared on TechSpot and is syndicated via Digpu & NewsTex.