Subscribers to Hulu’s + Live TV service were notified today about two additional channels added to their payment plan. Deadline reports the Disney-owned streaming platform has added both Disney+ and ESPN+ to the channel lineup. While these were added at no extra cost, the monthly rate for the live and on-demand provider will see an increase of $5.
First debuting in 2019, the triple bundle of Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+ had been positive move for the company, according to Deadline. Capitalizing on this growth, the streamer will officially add the two services to the platform on December 21. The ad-supported version of the Live TV service will increase to $70, while the ad-free Hulu + Live option will have a monthly rate of $76.
Deadline reports as of Oct. 3, Hulu boasted a total of 43.8M subscribers, with four million of those paying for the live TV plan. These numbers make Hulu the fifth-largest pay-TV service in the United States. The Live TV version has a total of 75 channels along with an on-demand service offering a library of over 100,000 films and episodes of television.
Hulu’s Live TV option has increased Disney’s revenue per subscriber, with an average increase of 18% equaling about $84.89 each, via Deadline. Most of those numbers can be attributed to steady increase in the monthly rates. Earlier this year, both tiers saw a price increase that did affect subscription growth for a short time. However, Disney walked away this last quarter seeing a 38% increase in direct-to-consumer revenue, which totaled $4.6 billion.
Disney+, in addition to offering content from their decades-long catalog, offers scripted, unscripted, and original content from its multiple IPs including Marvel, Star Wars, Fox, and National Geographic. The company’s recent Disney Plus Day for investors previewed several original films and series coming to the platform within the next two years.
EPSN+ is an off-shoot of the 24-hour sports reporting network. In addition to daily commentary shows and live-sports offerings, the service includes specialty series and other content from journalists, personalities, and athletes.