Disney+ shakes up UK costs after worldwide drop in subscribers

Disney+ is to alter its UK pricing after shedding 11.7 million clients internationally.

The streaming service, which at the moment prices UK customers £7.99 a month, will introduce three new pricing tiers from 1 November.

It comes after the corporate revealed it suffered a 7.4% drop in Disney+ clients internationally, to 146.1 million within the three months to July.

The entertainment giant additionally reported a web lack of $460m (£360m) within the third quarter, in contrast with earnings of $1.4bn (£1.1bn) throughout the identical interval final 12 months.

Walt Disney chief govt Bob Iger stated the agency was dealing with a “challenging environment”, however stated it was on observe to chop prices by billions of kilos and stated income was up 4%.

He additionally vowed to introduce a crackdown on password sharing in 2024, though didn’t present particulars.

It follows a similar move by streaming rival Netflix earlier this 12 months.

Mr Iger additionally unveiled value will increase for advert-free customers of the service within the US, as he claimed the promoting marketplace for streaming was “picking up” when put next with conventional TV spots.

“We’re obviously trying with our pricing strategy to migrate more subs to the advertising supported tier,” he added.

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The new Disney+ UK pricing features a cheaper plan of £4.99 a month with adverts, together with a £7.99 “standard” service which might be watched on two totally different gadgets without delay.

A dearer premium model, priced at £10.99 a month, will supply larger picture high quality and the flexibility for 4 totally different individuals to look at without delay.

Existing subscribers to the service, which incorporates Star Wars and Marvel movies, will routinely be transferred to the premium model – except they request to modify their plan – and nonetheless be charged £7.99 a month up till December.

Similar shake-ups in pricing are being launched throughout Europe and in Canada.

Elsewhere, Disney stated it was boosted by its Shanghai Disney Resort, which was open for the total quarter – in contrast to the identical time final 12 months when COVID restrictions pressured its closure for a lot of the interval.

But the corporate additionally misplaced 12.5 million subscribers to its Disney Hotstar service in India after it gave up rights to Indian Premiere League cricket matches.