Disney ‘likely’ to offer ESPN Plus, Hulu, Disney Plus combo plan

Apr 15, 2019

That may sound like the beginning of a bad joke, but it may soon be a reality. Disney confirmed on Thursday that it will likely put Disney Plus, ESPN Plus and Hulu into one package that consumers can buy, according to The Verge.

Kevin Mayer, the chairman of Disney’s direct-to-consumer division, said it “will likely bundle at a discounted price to offer more value for consumers.”

• Hulu currently costs $5.99 for a new plan with ads and $11.99 with “no commercials.” Hulu with Live TV runs for about $44.99 per month.
• ESPN Plus costs $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year.
• Disney Plus will cost $6.99 per month or $69.99 per year, it was announced.

So, if packaged together, the subscriptions could run for about $17.97 per month, or $23.97 per month, depending on how Disney plans to package them all together.

Why it matters: “Tying all of these things together is an obvious move if Disney wants to make things easier for consumers. Executives at ESPN have previously hinted that a bundle could be in the cards,” according to The Verge.

“Pairing its services together will create a formidable challenge to Netflix, yes, but could also eat into the cable industry and internet TV services like Sling TV and YouTube TV. It’s likely that some consumers won’t need a traditional cable package if they’ve got on-demand TV episodes, sports programming, and Disney’s vault of classics and Marvel films in one bundle for a single, straightforward price.”