Disney+ is once again hiking prices, and customers of the streamer aren’t happy. Many have vowed to no longer be customers after the latest announced price increases. Currently, the price for a yearly subscription in the United States stands at $139.99. However, customers in the United Kingdom, Europe, and Canada are getting gouged by the mouse for 2024, and many are quitting the streaming giant.
One X user from the U.K. who goes by the handle @mellyfratelli posted screenshots of her bill. It noted that her cost for the year would increase to $139.50. She also posted the costs for 2020, 2021, and 2020, with the costs being $63.45, $76.15, and $101.40, respectively. Her cost had more than doubled in four years, yet the quality of content has continued to decline.
For many, the return on their entertainment dollar hasn’t been enough, and canceling is an easy decision. The user from the U.K. that posted her costs went on to say: “Goodbye Disney+, you must be crazy x.” Her post went viral, having been viewed over 4 million times, and has led many to express similar sentiments.
One user wrote, “Disney Plus more than doubling in price over 4 years is absolutely wild but somehow not unexpected. If only the calibre of content being released on the platform made the price seem worth while,” while others stated, “Yeah thanks for this!!!!!!! Mine is due for renewal next month so I’m glad I saw this!!!!” and “How the f*** can they justify uping it that fucking much!!! Just turned off my renewal!”
More angry former Mouse fans said, “I can see we had the same reaction. I cancelled my subscription right away.” In perhaps the most telling complaint, another claimed, “The choices available on the platform were not interesting enough for a viewer: “Yeah I cancelled because of this too. Hadn’t found anything up my street on there anyway, so no huge loss.” The losses come on the heels of one of the worst box office years in company history. Disney lost a reported $750 million across 13 films, most of them flopping hard.
It is difficult to feel sympathy for Disney, as they have brought much of the misery upon themselves. Woke content featuring forced diversity and subtle sexual themes, including same-sex couples, has led many parents to abandon Disney in search of more wholesome content. The constant price increases also fly directly in the face of the very reason streaming exists.
Streaming sprung from a consumer desire to “cut the cord” from cable. With cable, it is an all-or-nothing proposition, and people are forced to pay high prices for channels they never watch so that they can get the few they love. Streaming was supposed to be a low-cost alternative, allowing customers to target precisely what providers they wanted to spend their money on. The constant price hikes, along with the questionable content, have been a bad combination for Disney, and they are struggling as a result.
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The best thing for Disney would be a price decrease, if just for one year. The company is losing money on streaming anyway, and if they aren’t going to improve their content, then perhaps give what customers they still have a break in the meantime. Alas, Disney will likely continue to plow forward with their broken business model and continue to lose customers and money.