Disney announced price increases for Disney+ and Hulu Premium plans effective September 23, raising the standalone Disney+ Premium tier from $18.99 to $21.49 per month—a 13% increase. The Disney+/Hulu Premium bundle rises by $2, from $19.99 to $21.99. Ad-supported standalone plans increased from $11.99 to $12.49, while bundled ad-supported plans remained flat. ESPN Unlimited also increased from $29.99 to $31.99 per month, effective September 17.
The price hike arrives days after Disney updated its Subscriber Agreement to allow promotional content, sponsorships, and advertisements across all service tiers, including the premium tier previously marketed as fully ad-free. According to Disney’s notification to subscribers, all plans may now include “promotional content,” “sponsorships,” and “advertisements before/after playback of Content and in channels, live/as-live, special events, and any third-party services content.”
Disney characterized the change as a “clarification” of existing terms rather than a new policy, noting that some language covering live-content ad breaks and sponsorships has existed in the terms of service. However, the explicit allowance for ads to run before and after content playback on the ad-free tiers represents a significant shift. Full mid-show ad breaks during playback remain exclusive to the lowest-tier ad-supported plan for now.
These moves come as Disney+ faces declining cultural relevance. According to Nielsen’s H1 2026 data, Disney+ had no original series in the top 20 most-watched originals, despite airing shows with strong brand recognition like Percy Jackson, Daredevil: Born Again, and Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord. None of these shows cracked Nielsen’s weekly Top 10 at any point during the first half of 2026. Disney’s internal Luminate data showed Daredevil: Born Again leading with 3.6 billion minutes viewed, while Wonder Man garnered 7 million season views—numbers closer to broadcast television than to prestige streaming content.
Additionally, Disney+ did not win a single award at the Emmy Awards’ main ceremony this year, highlighting struggles in original content production that could lead to further reductions in programming.
Key facts
- Disney+ Premium price increased 13% to $21.49/month, effective Sept. 23
- Ads now appear before and after content on all Disney+ tiers, including premium
- The change was confirmed via subscriber email and framed as a “clarification” of existing terms
- Disney+ had no shows in Nielsen’s Top 20 original series for H1 2026
- Daredevil: Born Again led Disney+ originals with 3.6 billion minutes viewed in H1 2026