Disney+ Expected to Make It Difficult for Netflix to Raise Prices

The streaming landscape is about to shift dramatically over the next couple of years with the [...]

By Charlie Ridgely

The streaming landscape is about to shift dramatically over the next couple of years with the launch of several high profile services. Netflix has led the way for some time, with Hulu, HBO, Amazon, and a couple of others crammed into the backseat. The biggest competition for Netflix, and every other site, will arrive in the fall in the form of Disney+, and it's ultra competitive prices could keep Netflix more affordable than perhaps it would like to be.

A new report from CNBC suggests that Netflix's strategy of slowly raising prices once the subscriber base plateaus might not be very effective once Disney+ arrives. The new service, which includes the entire Star Wars library, the majority of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and all of Disney's popular catalog, will launch at the incredibly reasonable price of $6.99 per month. On top of that, Disney announced a new bundle that will include Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+, all for just $12.99 per month.

The most common plan offered by Netflix runs for $13 per month, the same price as the Disney bundle. So users could get three services for the price of one. That said, some users likely won't be interested in the ads that will accompany Hulu or the sports offered by ESPN.

Disney+ isn't going to straight up steal users from Netflix, the latter has become a part of popular culture and has created a permanent place for itself, regardless of how many other services are launched. But Disney+ will make it harder and harder for Netflix to grow and continue earning money.

It's also worth noting that Disney+ isn't the only streaming service on the way, it's just the one that provides the most immediate competition. Warner Bros. is launching HBO Max next year, and NBCUniversal also has its exclusive service coming at some point.

There are some big changes coming to the streaming landscape very soon, and Netflix could fall behind if it isn't careful.

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