Disney says it is raising the prices of its Disney+ video streaming plans in Australia, with the changes set to begin this week as the entertainment giant prepares to integrate ESPN sports programming later this year.
The monthly price of a Disney+ Standard subscription will rise around 14 per cent from $13.99 to $15.99 on Wednesday, 19 February, Disney announced on Monday.
A yearly subscription to Disney+ Standard will also increase around the same percentage from $139.99 to $159.99.
The monthly price of a Disney+ Premium subscription — which includes up to four concurrent 4K streams — will increase around 17 per cent from $17.99 to $20.99, with a yearly subscription moving from $179.99 to $209.00.
However, existing subscribers would be “progressively notified of updated pricing”, with their price increases to take effect from their first renewal date after 26 March, the company said.
Some Australian Disney+ customers have already begun receiving notifications about the pending changes via email.
Similar cost increases are also occurring in New Zealand, while users in the United Kingdom are also reporting being emailed about price rises.
Both the United States and Canada experienced Disney+ price rises in late 2024.
As prices continue to rise in an increasingly crowded streaming market, Australian users still do not have access to ad-supported Disney+ subscriptions, which are available in countries such as the US and UK.
Netflix, a key competitor for Disney+, announced earlier this month that it would phase out its cheapest ad-free ‘Basic’ plan in Australia, with subscribers automatically moved to either a cheaper ad-supported plan or a more expensive ad-free subscription.
Disney calls ESPN addition a ‘game-changer’
Disney last week announced it would bring ESPN to its Disney+ platform in Australia and New Zealand “in the coming months”.
The two nations would be the first English-speaking markets outside of North America to have access to ESPN on Disney+, after it was added to the streaming service in the US in December 2024.
The ESPN and ESPN2 channels will be made available to all Disney+ Premium and Standard subscribers in Australia and New Zealand, the company said.
ESPN sports coverage is expected to be added to Disney+ in Australia and New Zealand in 2025. Photo: Shutterstock
Disney executive Kylie Watson-Wheeler, who heads ESPN in the Asia-Pacific, said the addition of sport on Disney+ — a service typically seen as being popular with families and children — was “an innovative game-changer".
“Disney+ will provide access to the biggest ESPN offering ever delivered in our market, including live games and on-demand replays,” she said.
“ESPN’s unrivalled coverage of massive global sporting events and dedicated local programming adds to the wide array of entertainment already available on Disney+ for audiences of all ages.”
Disney+’s addition of ESPN has been seen as something of a threat to more expensive streaming services which also offer the popular sports network, such as Foxtel and Kayo.
Other major streaming services have also been increasing their investments in sports programming in recent years.
Netflix has broadcast events from the NFL and wrestling entertainment giant WWE, while Amazon Prime Video has acquired the rights to several sports programs and live events.
Password sharing crackdown 'working out well'
Increased competition in the video streaming space has also led some companies taking measures to prevent users from sharing their accounts with people outside of their household.
Disney+ implemented techniques to prevent Australians from sharing their accounts in late 2024, following a similar move by Netflix in 2023.
Disney+'s password sharing crackdown was “working out well”, its chief financial officer Hugh Johnston reportedly told a conference in December.
The move was “going to be a big driver” for growth in 2025 he said, according to TheWrap.
Globally, Disney added 4.4 million new Disney+ members between the third and fourth quarters of 2024 but expected a “modest decline” in subscribers in the first quarter of 2025, according to an earnings report released by the company in November.
With more than 3.1 million subscribers in Australia, Disney+ was the third most popular subscription video streaming platform domestically in 2024 behind Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, according to analyst firm Telsyte.
