Disney+ Announces ABC News Live and Continuous Playlists, Alongside Upcoming Price Hikes

Aug 06, 2024 in "Disney+"

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Posted: Tuesday August 6, 2024 2:00pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney+ has announced changes to its streaming service, including the introduction of new continuous playlists and an upcoming price increase across its subscription plans.

Disney+

Starting on September 4, 2024, Disney+ will enhance its on-demand offerings by adding a series of curated playlists, beginning with ABC News Live and a collection focused on preschool content.

ABC News Live, a 24/7 premium streaming news channel, will be available to all Disney+ subscribers, providing live newscasts, breaking news, live events, and in-depth special reports. Additionally, the preschool content playlist will include popular TV series and shorts such as Sofia the First, The Lion Guard, Puppy Dog Pals, and Minnie’s Bow-Toons.

Later in the fall, Disney+ plans to roll out four additional curated playlists for its Premium subscribers. These playlists will be refreshed monthly and include:

Seasonal Content: A collection of seasonal-themed programming.
Epic Stories: A compilation of action-packed content from Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars.
Throwbacks: A selection of nostalgic pop culture content.
Real Life: A range of documentaries, biopics, and true stories.

Price Increases for Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+

With these content additions, Disney has announced price increases for several of its streaming services, effective October 17, 2024. The new monthly prices for U.S. subscribers are as follows:

Disney+ Basic (With Ads): $9.99 (previously $7.99)
Disney+ Premium (No Ads): $15.99 (previously $13.99)
Hulu With Ads: $9.99 (previously $7.99)
Hulu With No Ads: $18.99 (previously $17.99)
ESPN+: $11.99 (previously $10.99)
Disney Bundle Trio Basic (Disney+, Hulu with ads, ESPN+): $16.99 (previously $14.99)
Disney Bundle Trio Premium (Disney+, Hulu with no ads, ESPN+): $26.99 (previously $24.99)
Hulu + Live TV (With SVOD Ads): $82.99 (previously $76.99)
Hulu + Live TV (No SVOD Ads): $95.99 (previously $89.99)

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DKampyAug 17, 2024

We actually finally cut the cord on Friday… something that has been in discussion for awhile… but we barely watch cable TV anymore….besides me being a Chicago Cubs fan… we are more movie theaters than sport spectators people… so live sports don’t affect us too much… we just added Peacock to our streaming repertoire and will probably add Paramount soon… then our television networks are taken care of… it will probably still be cheaper then cable…. Much less cheaper then cable plus the streaming services we already have

Hawkeye_2018Aug 16, 2024

I was finally able to confirm. Along with the price increase, the ad plan is losing 4K hdr

DKampyAug 16, 2024

I agree with this… It feels as if Netflix does not care so much… some of their series such as mindhunter just end after the third season without an ending…maybe the issue with being the top dog in streaming for so long…once they have one sect subscribe…. Time to focus on a new group to attract…perhaps now that they have an Ad tier maybe Netflix will have more money incentive to care…The times I do open the App…It’s becoming more rare to find anything of interest

Wendy PleakleyAug 16, 2024

Netflix has thrived, in my opinion, because even at current prices it's not hard to get one's money's worth. Watching a movie a week alone is cheaper than renting things. It's also not a lot of money in the grand scheme of things. Of course, now that competition is growing and people are looking at their total streaming cost per month, that's where Netflix could be in danger of losing customers. Especially with their quantity over quality approach. Apple TV is great for anyone who likes sci-fi. They're leading the charge in the department. While they don't have a lot of content their track record of quality has been great.

BrianLoAug 16, 2024

I feel like we’re watching the dregs of Netflix. Most of their big series I’ve followed are basically in process of ending. I guess they do have Wednesday and three body problem. But I’ve fallen off their reality tv offerings in a big way. I don’t see myself stopping subscribing per se as I’m not much of a churner, but I find myself opening Netflix less and less and less. In addition to being also a fan of Apple TV, I’ve got a lot of mileage out of crunchyroll.

Vegas Disney FanAug 16, 2024

Good to know, this highlights one of the biggest problems with streaming, there’s too many services, we have Netflix, D+, and Amazon prime, we’ve debated HBO and Paramount but haven’t found them worth the price… I haven’t paid any attention to the Apple offerings. With a dozen services to choose from (and basic cable still being kind of necessary) we’re kind of stuck picking and choosing because we aren’t willing to pay several hundred dollars a month for all of it.

DKampyAug 16, 2024

My wife and I find ourselves watching Netflix the least of all our streaming services… we have actually talked about canceling Netflix, but there are still a couple of series we like( Stranger Things, Cobra Kai) but we can usually binge a new season in a weekend… In cobra Kai’s case the first part of the final season was only 5 episodes so it could be binged in only 2 and 1/2 hour… so approximately the length of a movie We may sign up for the new bundle with Disney+, Hulu, and Max as we still watch all 3 of those a decent amount Our favorite Streaming service might be Apple +… it has most of my favorite shows of the last few years… Ted Lasso, Shrinking, Severance, Servant, For All Mankind, Platonic etc… and we just started watching a new show…. Bad Monkey….which shows promise

Hawkeye_2018Aug 15, 2024

Can anyone who has the ad version (USA) confirm if they are still getting 4K HDR?

MarvelCharacterNerdAug 10, 2024

Except wasn't India something like .50 per sub not $5 (and my understanding is their priority was cricket rights not Disney content, so when Disney lost those rights, they also lost the interest of the subs there)? Agreed Netflix changed the game AND they subsequently set the price bar high, but I don't think it's sustainable for anyone else. I would've likely stayed being a boiled frog with Disney+ if they'd raised me from $80 to $90 for the year. But not from $80 to $140. That's not boiling the frog; that's shoving it right out of the pot. lol And again, that kind of behavior, whether on streaming or at the parks is not IMO good longterm strategy. If people get used to NOT being Disney consumers, then so will their kids, and there will be no future customers for the company. But I guess we'll see in the coming years whether their current thinking helps or hurts.

Hawkeye_2018Aug 09, 2024

I have the ad version and appear to no longer be streaming in 4K HDR. Is this new?

BrianLoAug 09, 2024

I think my point is someone who drops off after 5$ a month isn’t a low end consumer. They are barely a consumer. This is replacing 80$ turn of the Millenium cable bills. Subscriber counts continue to be steady in spite of the series of price increases. Again I blame Netflix for essentially the massive price erosion of traditional media that we are in a decade worth of price matching to undo it all. What you suggest was tried, in India (millions of subscribers at basement prices)… and again failed miserably. There is an optimal price to subscriber curve and 5$ sure ain’t it.

MarvelCharacterNerdAug 09, 2024

And if they could get 5 or 10 extra people at $5 or $7 each, it still beats that one person at $20. :) Not just mathematically, but for engagement with the content. I don't know how many of those high-end subscribers they will wind up keeping in the long run vs. a larger group they could keep at a lower price point for an extended time. As noted above, they're pulling the same thing at the park, pricing people out. Perhaps good for the short term profits but not for the future of the parks or the company if people go elsewhere and the pool for Disney fandom shrinks with the subsequent generations who stop growing up on Disney content and experiences. This latest earnings call acknowledged that with parks they're losing the lower end consumers to being priced out... AND the higher end consumers seeking better experiences. Who is going to be left if both the pennies AND the dollars float away?

Miss RoriAug 08, 2024

Yeah, especially as there are only 4 and it's just going to be the same old stuff as could be pulled up on demand. (And I'd imagine they'd get old fast, especially the Seasonal Content one.) Beyond the lack of original hits at Disney+ -- and even the successes they have had are pretty much limited to the fanbases for the MCU, Star Wars, etc. -- they have never fully capitalized on their library content. Going further back than the 1990s there's still a lot of TV and movies missing (especially '80s titles like Condorman and Something Wicked This Way Comes), hundreds of theatrical animated shorts remain in limbo, and the purge of original non-franchise shows in May 2023 just made the lineup smaller. To say nothing of how they haven't added any more vintage Muppets material since 2021. And while they have some interesting imports (Doctor Who, K-dramas, etc.) aside from Bluey they're barely advertised to the markets that would be most receptive to them. Also, what was the last fresh-from-theaters film they put up on the service, Wish?

Wendy PleakleyAug 08, 2024

Citing playlists as a justification for price increases is certainly a choice. I'm okay with the value Disney+ provides at the moment, but that is not a selling point. They need some original E-ticket programming.