Disney CEO says Disney+ will have a $12.99 bundle that includes ad-supported Hulu and ESPN+ when it launches on November 12
The Streamable is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission when you sign up with our links. — On today's, Third Quarter 2019 Earnings Call Disney …
The StreamableJason Gurwin
Context & Ripple Effects
This is the founding move of Disney's streaming strategy: on the Q3 2019 earnings call, the CEO prices the launch-day trio — Disney+, ad-supported Hulu, and ESPN+ — at $12.99, deliberately set against the cost of subscribing to each service separately. The bundle became the template Disney kept repricing rather than abandoning: within about a year it added an ad-free Hulu tier at $18.99, and by 2022 it had introduced an ad-supported Disney+ tier of its own while raising the ad-free price.
The competitive logic compounded from there. In 2024 Disney crossed company lines, announcing and then launching a bundle with Warner Bros. Discovery's Max — evidence that the single-company bundle had become table stakes. And the trio itself is being restructured around it: Hulu content is being folded into Disney+ per Bob Iger's plan, while ESPN spins up its own flagship service priced highest when unbundled.
First-order effects
Subscribers signing up on November 12 get three Disney-owned services for one price, making the bundle the default entry point into Disney streaming rather than standalone Disney+.
Hulu and ESPN+ inherit Disney+'s launch-day marketing push, gaining immediate scale on a platform they could not have driven alone.
Second-order effects
Once Disney proved a three-service bundle could anchor consumer price expectations, rivals followed the same playbook across company boundaries — culminating in the 2024 Disney–WBD package with Max.
Third-order effects
If the pattern holds, streaming consolidates around multi-service bundles with ad tiers as the price floor, while Disney progressively dissolves the standalone walls between its own apps — folding Hulu into Disney+ and repositioning ESPN as a premium add-on.
The trend: Streaming is consolidating around discounted multi-service bundles — first within one studio's portfolio, then across competitors — with advertising tiers setting the entry price.
Think of the IP that ESPN + Hulu + Disney offers. That $13 month is, relatively speaking, extremely affordable and a no brainer as a consumer choice. https://twitter.com/...
At that price, I can only see this as a loss-leader to capture a significant portion of the streaming market before raising fees incrementally. And if you think that won't work, you've never been a parent at 7am with toddler screaming about missing his favorite show. https://twit…
It's hard to criticize this price. They nailed it. My Q: how easy will it be to upgrade bundle to commercial-free Hulu plan or Hulu with Live TV? https://www.theverge.com/...
Disney owns pretty much every property I once loved, yet I can't think of a single one of their properties that I would pay $13/month for today. https://twitter.com/...
$12.99 for Disney+, ESPN+, and the ad-supported Hulu tier is a direct shot at Netflix and covers almost a full cable bundle of content types. Disney sits at just 5 on the go90 Scale of Doomed Streaming Services https://www.theverge.com/...
Disney may be rebooting some beloved franchises for Disney+ like Home Alone, Night at the Museum, Diary of a Whimpy Kid, Cheaper by the Dozen https://cnet.co/2Kvj4DI
I have Hulu commercial free and it is just over $13/month, I pay $49 annually for ESPN+. The new Disney thing is going to run at $6.99/month. Or you can do the below bundle, which looks to be a hell of a deal. https://twitter.com/...
Oh wait a minute, Hulu is three different things. There's Hulu with ads for $6/month. Hulu without ads for $12/month and then there's Hulu with Live TV for $45/month. I was thinking about Hulu w/ Live.
🐭 Disney CEO Bob Iger finally announces long-awaited Disney streaming bundle: - For $12.99, consumers can access Disney+, ESPN+ and the ad-supported version of Hulu - The deal will be available when Disney+ launches Nov. 12 - That's still cheaper than premium Netflix package
Walt Disney CEO @RobertIger announces on $DIS earnings call that ESPN+, Disney+ AND ad-supported Hulu will be available as a bundle for $12.99 per month That's the same price as the Netflix “standard” 2-screen plan or $2 less than HBO Now (h/t @ethan_kraft)