Two streaming announcements in September 2026 showed just how differently Hollywood is trying to win viewers. Disney raised subscription prices for the second time in a year, betting customers will keep paying more.
Paramount Skydance went the other way, rolling out a major marketing campaign and a revamped Pluto TV experience built around a price tag of zero.
Disney tests the price ceiling
Disney+ and Hulu's standalone ad-free plans now cost an extra $2.50, bringing each to $21.49 a month. The ad-free Disney+ and Hulu bundle rose by $2, or 10%, to $21.99, while the company's most popular ad-supported bundle stayed at $12.99.
Disney is keeping its cheaper ad tier competitive while asking premium subscribers to shoulder another increase. The company says the higher prices will fund investment in content, technology, features, and personalization.
The timing adds another wrinkle. Meta's new AI agent Muse can reportedly scan emails and cancel subscriptions with a simple prompt, making it easier for consumers to cut services they've stopped watching.
Streaming bills are adding up
An estimated 39% of Americans canceled a streaming service in the past six months because of rising costs, a trend dubbed streamflation. Streaming households spend roughly $70 a month, while subscribing to all six major services can push the bill closer to $120 before broadband.
Disney+ illustrates how far prices have climbed. Its annual subscription cost $70 at launch and now runs $190, a 170% increase that makes another round of price hikes harder to ignore.
Paramount bets on free streaming
Pluto TV has completed its largest technology investment since launching 12 years ago, bringing live and on-demand programming into one interface built on the same technology stack as Paramount+.
The programming lineup is expanding alongside the overhaul. Third-party licensed content from NBCUniversal, Disney, Sony, and other studios grew 63% year over year, while monthly on-demand viewership climbed 70% in 2026..
The new ad campaign runs the tagline "Stream now. Pay never," and debuts around the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 27. Holland, the company's chair of direct-to-consumer, says the service opened up the free streaming market but went years without a product refresh.
CEO David Ellison was blunter on a February earnings call, calling Pluto TV profitable but underinvested in by previous owners.
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The free market is getting crowded
Pluto TV once led free ad-supported streaming (FAST), but Tubi overtook it in early 2023, followed by The Roku Channel. Competition has intensified since.
Fox announced a roughly $22B acquisition of Roku in June, while The Roku Channel captured 2.9% of US TV viewing in July, per Nielsen.
Versant Media repositioned Fandango as a FAST network, and Tubi launched its first global ad campaign in September. Pluto TV is targeting younger viewers with nostalgia, with 18-to-34-year-olds now its fastest-growing demographic.
Paramount's video-on-demand viewing grew 26% in the first half of 2026, nearly doubling among that age group.
Paramount Skydance's Cindy Holland sees room to build on that momentum:
"We really considered Pluto TV to be a diamond in the rough."
Cindy Holland, Paramount Skydance
But with rivals offering the same price, Pluto TV needs more than free programming to stand out. "Free is a promotional idea," says Metaforce co-founder Allen Adamson. "Free has never been a brand-building word."
