Disney+ subscribers in the UK are in for a change as prices increase on October 2024
In a move that's set to impact Disney+ subscribers across the UK, the streaming giant is gearing up to implement a price hike for its existing customers from 17th October 2024.
Currently a single standard subscription plan is £7.99 per month or £79.90 annually, Disney+ is shaking things up by increasing the cost to £89.90 for a years viewing or £8.99 per month.
There are two other Disney + subscription options:
First is the "Standard with Ads" plan, priced at a wallet-friendly £4.99 per month. This option introduces advertisements during streaming and does not offer an annual payment choice. So it's cheap, which is nice, but if you hate adverts, it's going to be worth forking out a bit extra every month! On the other end of the spectrum is the "Premium" package, available at £10.99 per month or £109.90 for the year.
Only the standard (and most popular) package is due to have it's price increased, and this price increase will affect all new subscribers and any subscriber whose one-year subscription comes to an end as if the customer has selected auto-renew; it'll renew at the new higher cost.
How can I avoid this price increase?
The only way to avoid the price increase is to purchase a one-year standard subscription by October 16th. This will cost you £79.90, which is the equivalent of paying for 10 months rather than 12 at pre-October 17th pricing.
To break down the Disney+ packages further:
Disney+ Standard (with Ads) - £4.99 per month: Subscribers can save money while enjoying their favourite Disney content, accompanied by intermittent advertisements.
Disney+ Standard (without Ads) - £7.99 per month (or £79.90 annually), which increases in price on October 17th: An ad-free experience that ensures uninterrupted streaming of shows and movies. You can only have two concurrent streams at any time, so if several people use the service at once, you'll need to go premium. You’ll also only get HD quality, which for many people is fine, but if you want the best possible picture, again, Premium is needed.
Disney+ Premium (without Ads) - £10.99 per month (or £109.90 annually): The ultimate Disney+ experience, boasting enhanced video quality up to 4K UHD and HDR, along with Dolby Atmos sound. Plus, the Premium plan supports simultaneous streaming on up to four devices, ideal for family entertainment.
Is it worth the cost of subscribing to Disney+ and its rivals?
The value of subscription services to subscribers can still make these upped charges financially viable. Subscription services often offer a cost-effective way to access a wide range of content compared to traditional cable or satellite TV packages, which can be very expensive. Instead of paying for individual channels or renting movies, you get access to a library of movies, TV shows, and original content for a fixed monthly fee.
The key is to ensure you don't subscribe to more than you need; otherwise, it gets expensive! Paying monthly and then cancelling and swapping to different streaming services is a popular way to rotate the entertainment available to you, so you get some variety in what you watch without having to pay for multiple subscriptions.
I save £2 a month on my Disney+ plus subscription via my O2 account, as O2 offer £2 a month off the standard and premium Disney+ packages.
Until November 30th 2024, Uber Plus customers can get a years free Disney+ as part of their subscription. All the info about this offer can be found on our blog here.
Lloyds Bank's Club Lloyds current account gives you the Standard with Ads Disney+ plan free for 12 months
Check with your mobile phone, supermarket and banks loyalty apps/services as you'll often find free trials for a range of different streaming services up for grabs. I've just finished a free 3-month trial of Apple TV that I got from the Vodafone Rewards app, and it's not the first free trial I've had for Apple TV!
If you have Disney+, you’ll now need to pay an additional fee of up to £4.99 monthly to share your account with someone who doesn't live with you.
Disney+ has implemented new measures to regulate account sharing. The streaming service now identifies a user's primary location and establishes a 'Household' based on device usage patterns. When accessing the service from an unfamiliar location, users will need to verify their account through a one-time passcode sent via email.
To share an account with someone outside the household, subscribers must purchase an 'Extra Member' profile. This additional feature costs £3.99 monthly for 'Standard with Ads' plans and £4.99 monthly for 'Standard' or 'Premium' plans, on top of the base subscription price, which is a hefty price increase of up to £59.88 per year on top of the normal charges!
It's important to note that existing account sharers won't be automatically charged. The Extra Member profile must be actively purchased. Disney+ has not yet clarified how they will enforce this policy or if non-compliant users will face access restrictions.
There are limitations to the Extra Member feature:
1. Only one Extra Member can be added per account.
2. The Extra Member must not have previously held a Disney+ subscription, including free trials.
3. Extra Members are limited to streaming on a single device at a time.
4. They will have access to the same content and most features as the main account holder.
These changes reflect Disney+'s efforts to monetise account sharing while still offering a way for users to legitimately share their subscriptions with others outside their household.
There are free TV options!
Pluto TV is free if you want to watch something different (with adverts). Freely is a newer free streaming service, and Amazon has Freevee, which offers free TV and movies, again with adverts, and has a good selection to choose from! Often, with these 'free' streaming services, you can expect less variety and older films and TV programmes (which isn't always a bad thing!)
Please note that all prices mentioned are accurate as of the time of writing and are subject to change by Disney+.