Hulu + Live TV to Raise Price to $69.99, But Now Includes The Disney Bundle (Disney+ & ESPN+)
Hulu + Live TV will be raising the price of their Live TV Streaming Service to $69.99, but it will now include access to Disney+ and ESPN+ ($15 value). Hulu Live TV customers already had access to Hulu SVOD plan with the live service.
The $5 price hike goes into effect on December 21 for both new and existing customers. Hulu + Live TV with their ad-free SVOD plan (along with Disney+ & ESPN+) will be $75.99/month after the price hike (previously $70.99).
Those who already pay for Disney+ or ESPN+ will receive a credit for their existing subscription.
Hulu previously offered Hulu + Live TV with The Disney Bundle for $72.99 (with ads) and $78.99 (without ads), so this will save $3 a month for those who had those plans.
Both their Hulu (w/ Limited Commercials) and Hulu (No Ads) plans will remain $6.99 and $12.99 respectively, after seeing a $1 price hike of their own in October.
Just last week, Disney announced that Hulu + Live TV had reached 4.0 million subscribers, which puts it and YouTube TV as the largest Live TV Streaming Services.
Earlier this year, Hulu added NFL Network to their base plan, and NFL RedZone as part of a new Sports Add-On. No additional channels are expected to be added along with the price increase.
This is the fourth major price hike for the service. In February 2018, the service raised the price from $40 to $45 after adding channels from Discovery. In December 2019, they raised the price from $45 to $55. In December 2020, they raised the price from $55 to $65.
Hulu Live TV isn’t the only service to increase prices in the last year.
Sling TV raised the price of Sling Orange and Sling Blue to $35 in January, but added a 50 Hour DVR to the packages. Philo also raised the price of their service to $25 in May, while adding the ability to keep DVR recording for a year.
Neither, YouTube TV, fuboTV nor DIRECTV STREAM have raised the price of their service in 2021. fuboTV has added a Regional Sports Fee though in many markets.
YouTube TV last raised the price of their plans from $50 to $65 (a 30% increase) in June 2020. fuboTV eliminated their $60 Standard Plan in December 2020, with their new cheapest option starting at $65. AT&T raised the price of their legacy plan in March, but DIRECTV STREAM has remained $69.99 since last year.
With the annual increases in content costs — and the continuing fattening of bundles of Live TV Streaming Services, it’s no surprise to see annual price hikes to the services. The question is — just how high will they go before customers just forgo live TV altogether.
Hulu Live TV
Hulu Live TV is a live TV streaming service with more than 70 channels for $76.99/month. Hulu + Live TV base plan includes local channels, 33 of the top 35 cable channels, and regional sports networks (RSNs). Subscribers get free access to Disney+ and ESPN+ at no extra charge.