Latest News by Industry
Walt Disney Co (NYSE: DIS) on Friday announced plans to raise the monthly subscription fee for its sports streaming platform ESPN+ by $3 a month.
The price of an ESPN+ subscription will rise by 43% to $9.99 per month starting August 23.
The annual subscription cost will go up to $99.99 from $69.99.
However, the company said that the fee for those getting a bundle of all of Disney’s streaming services, including Hulu and Disney+, will not get impacted.
Shares of Disney jumped almost 4% in afternoon trading.
ESPN+, which offers more than 22,000 live events, raised its monthly and annual subscription fees in the United States in July last year.
Over the last year and a half, Disney said it has added expanded National Football League (NFL) rights, expanded its rights to Wimbledon and the Australian Open, renewed rights for the popular FA Cup and more on ESPN+.
“While it is a significant change to the price, it’s reflective of the increased scope, scale and value of ESPN Plus as we continue to add significantly to both live sports and original programs and series, and it is part of an established plan to ensure ESPN+ is a profitable and strong long-term business,” Disney said in a statement.
As Media companies have been searching for new ways to generate more revenue amid reduced ad spending and intense competition in the crowded streaming market, Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) has partnered with Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) for its planned ad-supported subscription offering, as it looks to plug slowing subscriber growth by rolling out a cheaper plan.
Picture Credit: TechRadar
ALSO READ: