Sorry ESPN + users, annual subscriptions are even more expensive

ESPN + is the latest streaming service to get a price hike.

Sports service currently costs $ 50 per year when subscribers opt for annual rather than monthly billing. But from January 8, this price will rise at $ 60 a year for new customers, the company confirmed to Gizmodo Wednesday. The good news for existing subscribers is that they will get a few more months of the current rate before they start seeing charges on their bills. A spokesperson said the subscription cost for these users will remain the same “until at least March 2”

But that’s not the only fee increase subscribers will see on the service. The price of pay-per-view UFC events will also drop from the current cost of $ 65 to $ 70.

ESPN + previously increases its monthly subscription for new listings from $ 5 to $ 6 earlier this year. Subscribers who pay for the service on a monthly basis will not be affected by the annual subscription change, an ESPN + spokesperson said, and the price changes will not affect Disney + package prices ( for now, at least).

This is the first annual price hike for ESPN + since its launch in 2018. The spokesperson said the higher annual cost to subscribers will come to the service is expansion live event programming, original content, editorial initiatives and studio programming.

The news also comes in the middle price changes for partner sites of the service. Hulu with Live TV recently got a price increase, and Disney + recently ad it would increase the monthly subscription cost of its service by $ 1 in March of next year (from $ 7 to $ 8 per month), while its annual subscription plan will increase by an additional $ 10 (from $ 70 at $ 80 per year). At that point, the bundle that includes ESPN +, Disney +, and ad-supported Hulu will also drop a dollar to $ 14 per month.

Is it unexpected? Well no. Good services cannot remain cheap indefinitely. But with everyone other hiking their prices also, it does not hurt our wallets any less.