Hulu + Live TV subscribers can expect to see their monthly rates go up next month after Disney+ and ESPN+ get tacked onto their service.
The virtual MVPD will institute a $5 per month increase beginning Dec. 21, which will bring its rates up to $69.99 for Hulu + Live TV and $74.99 for Hulu (No Ads) + Live TV. Disney+ and ESPN+ sell separately for $7.99/month and $6.99/month, respectively, so the price increase to bundle represents a significant discount compared to paying separately.
Hulu also sells a Live TV Only plan—with no Hulu SVOD, Disney+ or ESPN+—for $63.99/month for new and existing subscribers, but that will also go up to $68.99/month in December.
The Hulu + Live TV price increase will kick in approximately one year after the last time the service raised its rates.
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For Disney, the price hike could provide an immediate boost to Disney+, which added just 2.1 million subscribers during the third quarter. Hulu + Live TV added 300,000 subscribers over the same period and currently sits at 4 million total.
During the company’s fiscal fourth quarter, direct-to-consumer revenues increased 38% to $4.6 billion but operating loss increased from $0.4 billion to $0.6 billion.
Disney attributed the growth in part to an increase at Hulu thanks to advertising and subscription revenue rising. Hulu + Live TV raised its average monthly revenue per paid subscriber (ARPU) 18% to $84.89.
Hulu + Live TV is now priced at the same rate as DirecTV Stream as the two most expensive virtual MVPD compared to its peers in the U.S. Both YouTube TV and fuboTV start at $65 per month, while Sling TV starts at $35 per month and Philo starts at $25 per month.