Starting this fall, Disney will have three separate streaming services on the market. There’s Disney+, which debuts in November and leverages the power of Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, and Disney’s classic animated library. There’s ESPN+, which offers extra content for die-hard sports fans. Finally, there’s the movie and TV streaming service Hulu, which Disney controls after purchasing 21st Century Fox.
Thankfully, if you want all three, Disney is going to make it easy for you. On November 12, the same day that Disney+ arrives, Disney will offer a package that includes Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ for a mere $13, Disney CEO Bob Iger said in an investors call.
On their own, Disney+ costs $7 a month, ESPN+ is $5 a month, and Hulu is $6 a month, so the bundle will save potential subscribers about $5 in monthly fees. It’s also cheaper to pay the $13 fee every month than to commit to both Disney+ and ESPN+ for a year at discounted rates ($70 and $50, respectively) and add a Hulu subscription on top (Hulu doesn’t offer an annual subscription option).
Of course, the bundled version of Hulu is most likely the basic package, which includes advertisements. It also won’t include Hulu+Live TV, Hulu’s answer to live TV streaming services like Sling TV and PlayStation Vue. If either of those things are important to you, the bundle may not be for you.
Still, at $13, the Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu bundle remains competitive with other stand-alone streaming services. A Netflix subscription that can stream in HD resolution costs $13 on its own (the SD version is $9 a month), while AT&T’s HBO Max is expected to come in at $16 or $17 a month.
With multiple streaming platforms arriving in the next year and popular properties like Friends and The Office leaving Netflix for brand-specific platforms, it’s getting harder and harder for media consumers to stay on top of all of the content. Disney’s bundle is a great way to help alleviate that pain. Not only will Disney’s bundle make it easy to stay on top of buzzed-about original series like The Mandalorian on Disney+ and Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, but the massive amount of pre-existing content available on all three platforms should keep viewers busy for a long, long time.
