Price increase? Disney fans are nonplussed

Immediately add this to all business school curricula: When you have a tiny facsimile of Yoda on your side, the laws of pricing gravity don’t apply.

Prices for an ad-free Disney+ subscription went up 38% last December, and yet the service — streaming home to Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, and more — retained 94% of its subscribers, per The Wall Street Journal.

Only 5% of users balked at the new $10.99/mo. charge and canceled. Less than 1% switched to the cheaper version with ads ($7.99/mo.).

This doesn’t mean the ad-supported version isn’t working

Data from Antenna shows the Disney+ “Basic” offering gaining traction.

• So far, 36% of new sign-ups have gone this less costly route. By comparison, adoption rates for HBO Max’s ad-bedazzled offering hover around 21%.
• Across its full streaming portfolio, Disney customers remain ever-increasing — Mickey and friends entered 2023 with 235.7m subs, per IndieWire.

A Peter Pan-like dedication to youth helps: About half of Disney+ subscribers are families with children.

All encouraging news for the people who really make dreams come true: Disney investors

Streaming is an expensive game — the company segment housing Disney+ has lost nearly $10B since 2019, per WSJ.

Widening its audience base and ad revenues through this new model is meant to help Disney close this gap.

• Plus: Existing Disney+ audiences not flinching at price increases may enable further bumps. (Case in point: $56 Disneyland tickets in 2005 vs. today’s $104 starting price. The park is still packed day in, day out.)