Yet another subscription service you might rely on is seeing yet another price range, as Disney+ splits tiers and charges more.
Spending money is a requirement of everyday life, but spending more money seems to be just a sign of the times we’re living in. A little bit more and more every day, as the cost of living crisis continues.
Last year saw that happening to pretty much every streaming service, as music and movie and gaming services all started charging more, prompting more Australians to start cutting back.
And now Disney is doing it again in Australia, splitting its logical single plan into two, and making you fork out more for the privilege of 4K and Dolby Atmos. Specifically, if you like Ultra HD content and happen to like listening to your movie sound in 3D, you’ll need to pay extra come March when this all kicks in.
It’s a change set to arrive on March 5 in Australia, with new customers from that date charged one of two plan prices, while current subscribers will see the change when their subscription ticks over for payment again.
What used to be a smashing deal with one service price for 4K video and Dolby Atmos support is now going to be two options, with Disney+ Standard offering up to Full HD video and up to 5.1 audio on two devices simultaneously, while Disney+ Premium will bring the 4K HDR video support and Dolby Atmos sound, with up to four devices simultaneously.
Both plans will support downloads on up to 10 devices, and they’ll both offer ad-free streaming, with no plans yet for Disney+ in Australia to support ad-supported plans.
Two plans means two prices, with the Full HD-only Disney+ Standard running for $13.99 monthly and $139.99 yearly — the current price for 4K and Atmos support — while Disney+ Premium jumps to $17.99 monthly and $179.99 per year.
The price jump will see Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+’s inclusion of both 4K and Atmos support the better value subscriptions, though given how everything is going in the cost of living, you have to wonder how much longer that will continue.
