

Disney will once again raise prices on its Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN Select streaming services next month, according to a report from Variety’s Todd Spangler. The announcement denotes the third consecutive October in which the company has issued upcharges to customers’ existing plans.
Starting October 21st, the ad-supported versions of Disney+ and Hulu will each increase from $9.99 monthly to $11.99 monthly, according to Variety. Meanwhile, the premium version of Disney+ will rise from $15.99 to $18.99, making it the same price as the equivalent service for Hulu. Finally, the price of ESPN Select (formerly known as ESPN+) will climb from $11.99 to $12.99 a month. (For comparison, the Disney+ service originally launched in November 2019 at a price of $6.99, per Variety.
Protests against this particular price hike are no doubt compounded by the streamer’s recent controversy centered around talk show host and political commentator Jimmy Kimmel. Disney has spent the last week navigating outrage from alternating sides of the American political spectrum. After FCC chair Brendan Carr threatened to investigate the network in response to comments made by Kimmel surrounding the assassination of conservative pundit Charlie Kirk, Disney suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live indefinitely — only to face a slew of condemnations and calls to boycott from figures inside the American mediasphere, including many of the company’s own employees. After a tense weekend, the corporate conglomerate confirmed yesterday that Kimmel’s show would be returning Tuesday night; it remains to be seen, though, whether the company will manage to recover from the recent ordeal just as quickly.
“Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country,” reads Disney’s statement, obtained via ABC. “It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday.”
