Summary
- Disney’s price increases for Disney+ and Hulu, along with cracking down on password sharing, come at a time when there’s already a lack of new content due to ongoing strikes, making it a tone-deaf move.
- Streaming platforms like Hulu and Disney+ are already facing criticisms for high prices and a lack of high-quality content, and increasing prices now only adds fuel to the fire, potentially leading to a drop in subscriber numbers.
- The streaming industry’s current model is unsustainable as major platforms increase prices and fail to deliver on high-quality content and new shows, which could ultimately lead to a collapse of the industry as subscribers refuse to pay higher prices.
Following Netflix’s price increases and strictness about password sharing, Disney’s platforms are following suit with tone-deaf changes. Following a surge in new streaming platforms and the services becoming greater commodities during theater shutdowns amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the streaming industry is now taking an unwelcome turn for subscribers. Netflix announced unpopular measures that subscription rates would be going up at the same time that rules against password sharing would be enforced more strictly in 2023, which seemed to give competing streaming platforms like Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, and Peacock the upper hand. However, this is quickly proving to no longer be the case.
Disney’s two major streaming platforms, Disney+ and Hulu, will have considerable new price hikes beginning October 12 (via Variety). Disney+ Premium with no ads will jump 27% from $10.99 per month to $13.99 per month. Meanwhile, Hulu’s ad-free plan will increase by 20% from $14.99 to $17.99 a month, with the bundle now being priced at $19.99 monthly. However, both Disney+ and Hulu’s ad-supported tiers will remain at $7.99 a month each, with the ad-free bundle staying at $9.99 a month. Disney’s ESPN+ will also see raised prices, going from $9.99 to $10.99 per month. Making existing worries about streaming even worse, Disney is also following in Netflix’s footsteps by cracking down on password sharing.
Disney+ & Hulu’s Price Increases Prove How Tone-Deaf Streaming Services Are
Disney’s announcement about price increases arrives at the same time that both writers and actors are on strike, so it’s absurd that the streaming services will be raising prices at a time when new content is already expected to be heavily delayed and decreased. Unless the price hikes are accounting for higher pay for writers and actors, raising subscription rates for Disney+ and Hulu makes no sense in the current state of the industry. Disney is hiking prices for consumers of its three major streaming services, yet subscribers are already expecting less original content as the studio hasn’t agreed to the terms proposed by the WGA or SAG-AFTRA.
Considering the many criticisms against big studios amid the strikes for failing to account for the individuals creating their content and those consuming it, announcing a jump in streaming prices is one of the most tone-deaf choices Disney could have made. Disney, in particular, has been a common target for criticisms regarding its high streaming prices despite a lack of unique features, content increases, or high-quality projects that could justify such prices. As such, increasing the prices at this time is simply fueling the fire and contributing to the many problems facing the streaming industry, which could ultimately inspire a significant drop in subscriber numbers.
How Price Increases Don’t Make Sense For Current Streaming Trends
Even without the tone-deaf announcement during the WGA and SAG-AFTRA’s fight for fair wages and benefits, price increases don’t make sense in the current streaming landscape. With theatrical successes rising as they recover from the pandemic’s offsets, streaming must fight back with higher-quality content, new shows and movies that compel consumers to continue their subscriptions, and the expectation that popular TV shows will be given more faith with multiple seasons. However, recent streaming trends haven’t delivered on these fronts, which already puts platforms like Hulu and Disney+ at risk.
Netflix is notorious for canceling its TV shows after only one season despite growing a significant following or trending high on its platform, which decreases loyalty to the streamer’s brand. Netflix’s reputation means that when subscribers begin to love a new TV show, they also must be highly skeptical of whether it will actually get another season. Additionally, with Netflix’s popular ongoing shows like Stranger Things, You, and Cobra Kai ending soon, the streamer must find replacements amid the consensus that there’s an overall decrease in the quality of its content. Disney+ has similarly been criticized for a lack of high-quality original content, with massive series like The Mandalorian even seeing a decline in critical acclaim after several seasons.
Reportedly for cost-cutting reasons, streaming services like Max have also begun removing their own original content from their platforms, making such movies and tv shows virtually impossible to watch. Part of the novelty and intrigue of streaming services’ original content is that it will always be available to watch with a subscription, so this is a baffling trend for platforms to make when consumers are already being given numerous other reasons to cancel their subscriptions. With streaming-exclusive projects being removed from these platforms, a dip in quality from major streamers’ new content, and a notable wave in cancelations, streaming services like Disney+, Hulu, and Netflix have no compelling reason to jack up prices and assume that consumers will continue to pay for the services.
Netflix’s Password-Sharing Rules Were Already A Worrying Sign For Streaming
Netflix kicked off a disappointing trend for streaming services by announcing that it would be cracking down on password sharing, a policy that the platform had notably been lenient with over the years. For instance, Netflix once made a Tweet noting that “Love is sharing a password.” Netflix’s increased strictness with sharing passwords revealed that problems were growing for streaming services maintaining subscribers, with the expectation that competing platforms would inevitably follow suit. Unfortunately, Disney is already proving this to be true with an increased effort to monitor password sharing on Disney+ and Hulu, suggesting streamers like Max and Peacock aren’t far behind. With these efforts, subscribers are being hit with policies that undermine one of the greatest benefits of using streaming for consuming movies and television.
Why The Future Of Streaming Is Doomed
If the most popular streaming services are massively increasing prices for subscribers, then the rest of the platforms are in imminent trouble as well. Additionally, as more ad plans rise and original content isn’t up to par with subscribers’ expectations, streaming loses the basis of its original popularity and novelty. The prices will only continue to rise until major streaming services hit a ceiling that subscribers will refuse to pay, inevitably leading to platforms being unsustainable.
Whether there are mass buy-outs from major companies of other streaming services or the landscape changes entirely, the streaming wars will see major changes in the coming years as the current models continue to prove unsustainable for both studios and consumers. Disney and Netflix’s changes are just the tip of the iceberg, as the reality of the streaming industry’s doomed future will truly be felt in fall 2023 and winter 2024. When the effects of the strikes and studios’ refusals to agree to terms with the WGA and SAG leave platforms with shrinking new content and an even worse dip in quality, a significant number of subscribers will likely cancel their plans, leaving streaming’s future hanging in the balance.
Sources: Disney+, Variety, Twitter
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
