The cost to follow the UFC and PFL is going to get more expensive starting in October.
On Tuesday, Disney announced plans to raise prices for all of its various streaming services, including ESPN+, which serves as the primary streaming home for promotions like the UFC and PFL.
In mid-October, ESPN+ goes from $10.99 to $11.99 per month. Unlike many streaming services, there is no option for an ESPN+ package without ads.
Disney’s other streaming services are also raising prices with Disney+ basic at $9.99 per month and premium at $15.99 per month. Hulu with ads will cost $9.99 per month while Hulu without adds goes up to $18.99 per month. Hulu with Live TV is increasing at $6 more per month to a new price at $82.99
The cost increases officially kick in on Oct. 17.
Disney announced similar price hikes in 2023 as the company continues to push subscribers towards more of the package deals, which combine the various streaming services such as Disney+ with Hulu and ESPN+ at a lower overall cost.
In 2023, ESPN+ increased from $9.99 to $10.99 per month and now another $1 has been tacked on for $11.99 per month starting in October.
Disney announced the plans to raise prices on the streaming services a day before the company announces financial results for the second quarter of 2024.
Of course, Disney has been making a flurry of changes at ESPN in recent months after also announcing a new sports specific streaming bundle called Venu, which features ESPN channels including ESPN+ alongside FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery. That service costs $42.99 per month at launch with the service expected to go live in the fall prior to the start of the NFL season.
ESPN is also planning to launch its own standalone streaming service sometime in 2025, but the cost for that hasn’t been revealed yet.
The price increases come after ESPN just recently inked a massive new deal with the NBA to keep the basketball league on the network for another 11 years. ESPN’s next major broadcast rights deal starts in early 2025 with the UFC seeking a new TV contract.
