Disney Slashes Disney+ Price To $2 As Battle With Charter Rages On

Media giant The Walt Disney Company DIS launched the streaming platform Disney+ in 2019, adding to its direct-to-consumer business initiatives.

The company has gone on to raise the prices of its plan and also offer an ad-supported version. To celebrate several new releases and get ahead of another round of price increases, Disney is offering a huge discount on several Disney+ plans.

What Happened: Disney ended the third quarter with 105.7 million core Disney+ subscribers, a figure that was up 1% from the second quarter.

For the fourth quarter, Disney could see a boost in its subscriber figures thanks to a new promotion that started Wednesday and runs through Sept. 20.

The new promotion sees Disney offering its Disney+ basic plan, which includes ads, at just $1.99 per month for a three-month period. This is a major discount from the usual $7.99 monthly rate, amounting to over 70% in savings for both new and returning subscribers.

The discounts from Disney come as the company is also gearing up to raise prices on its Disney+ Premium plan and several bundle tiers beginning on Oct. 12.

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Why It’s Important: Disney’s new promotion coincides with the release of “The Little Mermaid” on the streaming platform Wednesday and the upcoming release of “Elemental” on Disney+ on Sept. 13.

Disney also recently released the first several episodes of its latest Star Wars franchise series, “Ahsoka.”

Streaming services frequently offer special discounts during popular shopping events like Black Friday Cyber Monday and Christmas or to coincide with new content releases, a tactic Disney may be using.

The new offer from Disney comes as the media company is also battling with cable company Charter Communications CHTR over carriage fees. The disagreement comes as Disney broadcasts the U.S. Open on ESPN, NCAA Football games, and the upcoming NFL season.

Disney's promotion aligns with streaming services' focus on growing new subscribers via ad-supported plans. These plans often offer better economics for companies, generating revenue from both subscriptions and ads.

Shares of Disney recently hit nine-year lows and are down 9% year-to-date in 2023 as the company struggles with several challenges, including poor box office performance.

DIS Price Action: Disney shares were down 0.26% to $80.98 on Wednesday, versus a 52-week trading range of $80.53 to $118.18.

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