Disney+ and Hulu are raising prices again, with the ad-free plan going up $2.50 to $21.49 a month, ad-supported plans going up $0.50 to $12.49, and the ad-free Disney+/Hulu bundle going up $2 to $21.99.
Every time a streaming service raises its prices, it can feel a bit like the old cable TV bundle PTSD: prices keep increasing, with no options or escape.
But luckily, this is 2026, and while the streaming business isn’t exactly jammed with pricing innovation, there are some ways to save money while still having access to your favorite streaming shows and movies.
If you don’t want to pay the Hulu/Disney+ price increase, there are a couple of options, especially if you’re satisfied with the ad-supported tiers of both platforms.
For instance, Verizon offers either a free or sharply discounted subscription to the ad-supported tiers of Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max if you’re a current subscriber to its home internet service.
Xfinity offers a modest discount to its home internet subscribers with a “StreamSaver” package that offers ad-supported versions of Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, and Peacock for around $30 per month.
Spectrum’s streaming deal for its home internet customers is even better: free Disney+ and Hulu for subscribers to its TV Select Signature, TV Select Plus, and TV Platinum plans.
But by far the best deal is offered by DirecTV, which offers a “MyEntertainment” genre pack that includes 60+ live channels plus the ad-supported tiers of Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, and AMC+ for free. And if you lease their Gemini streaming device for an additional $10 per month, you’ll also receive a free year of the ad-supported tier of Netflix.
I am a big fan of the Gemini device. As I wrote when I reviewed it early last month, it has one of the best interfaces around, and it also does a great job of integrating your various other streaming subscriptions into its home page.
But whether or not you make the leap and add a Gemini device, DirecTV’s genre packs are among the best deals in the streaming world. Besides the MyEntertainment genre pack, the company offers a sports genre pack for $64.99 a month. The sports plan doesn’t include free Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, or AMC+. But it does include a free ESPN Unlimited subscription. And for an additional $13.99 a month, you can add a MySports Extra mini-bundle, which includes NFL RedZone HD.
Prices on everything are going up—especially in the world of streaming. But there are alternatives available, and right now I would recommend the DirecTV MyEntertainment genre pack.
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What Does The Future Hold For Pluto TV?
When the full text of the settlement agreement between Paramount and the 12 state AGs was released on Monday, this section about the Paramount-owned AVOD service Pluto TV jumped out at me:
Pluto TV. For the Commitment Period:
a. The Combined Entity shall continue to maintain and make available a free, ad-supported streaming service under the Pluto TV brand or a successor or substantially equivalent replacement brand or service.
b. The Combined Entity will, at a minimum, maintain this service with service and quality levels at or above the service and quality for the service as provided on the Effective Date, and shall make all product and content improvement and additions as contemplated on the Effective Date.
That very specific description made me think, because there have been rumors inside Pluto that Paramount would like to somehow roll the service into Paramount+. The theory seems to be that past episodes/seasons of CBS programs shouldn’t be available on competing platforms. And given Paramount+’s ongoing revenue and subscriber growth challenges, bringing Pluto into the fold would be a net positive for the company.
Today, Pluto TV announced what it described as its “biggest transformation yet:”
Pluto TV is launching a completely rebuilt product experience, the result of moving the platform onto the same technology stack as Paramount+ and marking the company's largest technology investment since its founding 12 years ago. The redesign brings live and on-demand programming together through a more intuitive interface and richer personalization. The launch arrives as free streaming television becomes the fastest-growing segment of the streaming market, with viewers 18-34 now Pluto TV’s fastest-growing audience.
I hope to get a bit more information from Pluto TV execs about how this “transformation” will impact things such as content discovery. But I think it’s interesting that Pluto will be on the same tech stack as Paramount+. That would certainly make it much easier to combine them at some future date.
Odds & Sods
The stand-up special Jamie Foxx: Take Care Of Yourself premieres Wednesday, October 7th on Hulu. Here is a first look at the trailer.
The true crime doc Unmasking the Tylenol Killer premieres Friday, October 9th on The Roku Channel.
I love obscure show business stories, and this piece about the dour-faced older woman who makes an unplanned appearance in the opening credits of the The Mary Tyler Moore Show is weirdly fascinating.
The Sad Life Of An Entertainment News Journalist
Brian Grubb’s newsletter Type Click Type has just posted a hilarious piece on John Travolta’s trilogy of low-budget movies.
But what I want to highlight is the opening paragraph of the newsletter, which lays out the life of entirely too many freelance entertainment news writers over the past few years:
Hulu released its October premiere schedule earlier this month. This is the kind of thing I had to care a lot about at my old job because of search-friendly headlines like “When Does ‘The Adventures Of Ricky Avocado’ Premiere?” and “Where To Stream ‘The Adventures Of Ricky Avocado’” and “Who Is Ricky Avocado (Where To Stream The Premiere)?” that I don’t have to write or assign anymore and do not miss even a little. I usually do not even open the emails these days, which is kind of freeing in a way that makes me not ever want to unsubscribe, just so I can keep flinging them into the trash. It’s all very healthy. I’m fine.
All of those sad headlines were designed to capture search traffic in hopes of delivering a few ads to visitors before they left in disgust. It’s a variation of the same principle that led recipe web sites to spend 2,000 words recounting the history of the pig before they got around to delivering the recipe for country pork chops.
The fascinating thing to me is that I still see entertainment sites posting those pieces, even though that search engine traffic has mostly evaporated. But it is if they are stuck in this creative death spiral. They realize this approach doesn’t really work anymore. But they also don’t have a replacement.
What’s Coming Tonight And Tomorrow
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24TH:
A Different World Series Premiere (Netflix)
American Horror Story Season Thirteen Premiere (FX)
Go Deep: The DeSean Jackson Story (Prime Video)
Learning To Fly (Prime Video)
Shaque: Trust No One (Netflix)
Spidey and the Avengers: Halloween Team-Up! (Disney Jr.)
Teen Moms: Baseball Series Premiere (Paramount+)
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH:
Chilean Mine Rescue: Race Against Time (NatGeo)
Dateline NBC Season Premiere (NBC)
4 Blocks Zero (HBO Max)
Love After Lockup: The Road To Rehab (We TV)
Sing Democracy 250 (PBS)
The Final Problem (Netflix)