Disney CEO Comments On Reaction To Disney+ Price Hike

Disney CEO Bob Chapek responded to the concerns surrounding the Disney+ price hike. When the company announced that the subscription rate for their streaming service was going up, a lot of people were upset. Disney+ is still relatively young in the world of streaming content. $7.99 doesn’t seem like a large step, but all of these little increases add up over time. Chapek tried to address some of those concerns during Disney’s Investor Day Presentation. Basically, the CEO argued that the service was resilient to the kind of churn concerns that people presented after the high-profile launch of Disney+. In essence, would people stick around for the large library of existing content once things like The Mandalorian and WandaVision wrapped for their seasons? From the comments here, Chapek has the numbers to back up the argument that those concerns might have been overblown.

“Of course, these were our first price increases since we launched, we’re extremely pleased with how the market reacted to both — in EMEIA, added star at a six brand title,” he began. “We’ve seen an improvement in our churn rate. So we seem to be fairly resilient to those price increases, and as such, I think it makes us feel relatively bullish going forward that we still offer a tremendous price value relationship across the world for Disney+.”

During last year’s Investor Day event, the CEO also commented on the Direct To Consumer business model. Back then, Chapek was saying that the influx of Star Wars content and Marvel shows would help illustrate the value presented by Disney+.

“While I wish we could be together for this, I think you’ll find the presentation we have you to be truly spectacular,” he said of the DTC model’s efficacy and Disney’s approach moving forward. “Given that storytelling is at the heart of everything we do at Disney, we’re incredibly proud of how our stories have been embraced by people around the world… More than 1 billion people have identified themselves as true fans with deep connections to our brands.” Disney+ has 86.8 million subscribers.

Did you mind the price increase? Let us know in the comments.