ESPN+ is getting a price increase, but only for new subscribers. Starting August 12th, the monthly plan will cost $5.99, up from $4.99. If you’ve been on the fence, it might not be a bad idea to sign up before then, because ESPN+ doesn’t plan to increase the price for existing subscribers for at least a year.

The change won’t affect the ESPN+ annual plan, which is staying at $49.99/year — so that’ll be an even more attractive option soon enough. The bundle of ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu (with ads) will also stay the same at $12.99/month.

After guiding Disney through the acquisition of Fox and launching its direct-to-consumer efforts that center around Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu, CEO Bob Iger is stepping down from his post. “Effective immediately,” former Disney Parks Chairman Bob Chapek is taking over and will report to Iger while he serves as executive chairman and leads “creative endeavors” through the end of his contract next year.

In a statement announcing the move, Iger said “”With the successful launch of Disney’s direct-to-consumer businesses and the integration of Twenty-First Century Fox well underway, I believe this is the optimal time to transition to a new CEO.”

As far as Chapek’s experience, he’s worked there for more than two decades, and the press release notes that he spearheaded the infamous “Disney Vault” strategy for handling its iconic films as they were released for home viewing on VHS, DVD and Blu-ray.

Asked on a call with investors about the timing of the move, Iger said that it made sense to turn over day-to-day management of the company to Chapek so that he can use his remaining time to focus on creative aspects of the company. According to him, the move wasn’t accelerated “for any particular reason.”

With Chapek continuing to report to Iger, it doesn’t seem like things materially change at Disney much right now, but the move is announced right after the company revealed Disney+ has already grown to over 26 million subscribers. It’s also preparing to launch widely in Europe, and we’re still months out from the arrival of The Mandalorian season two and tons of Baby Yoda merchandise.

Now that Hulu is part of Disney’s streaming triumvirate with ESPN+ and Disney+, there’s a reorganization at the top and Randy Freer will step down from his role as CEO. He took over in late 2017, but now it will join the others under direct oversight from Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International chairman Kevin Mayer. We’ll see what changes come in the future for Hulu, as it previously stood alone as a rival to Netflix, but now is a part of a larger strategy.

Disney CEO Bob Iger already announced plans for “FX on Hulu” programming that’s overseen by FX boss John Landgraf, which came after Disney pulled the plug on a standalone FX streaming service. The Hollywood Reporter point out that Hulu’s scripted original shows are overseen by Disney TV Studios chairman Dana Walden, while Deadline reports it’s expected to hire a business leader to oversee the division.

Right now, if you want to watch every Bundesliga match in the US, you have to pay a lot for it. Fox Sports currently has the rights to the German league and the network typically broadcasts a handful of games spread across Friday, Saturday and Sunday each week. These are usually shared among Fox proper, FS1 and FS2, so you need cable or a live TV subscription (YouTube TV, etc) in order to watch almost all of them. Even then, you wouldn’t have access to every Bundesliga match that week. For that luxury, you’d have to pay $20 a month for the Fox Soccer Match Pass.

I love watching German soccer, and the only reason I don’t have Match Pass is the price. Too rich for my blood. And while you do get access to Bundesliga 2 (which ESPN will also show), some MLS (ESPN does that too) and US Men’s National Team matches that aren’t otherwise on TV, that’s still a lot of money to shell out monthly for essentially comprehensive coverage of one league. It’s way too early in the process, but Fox Sports will either have to replace the Bundesliga with something else or drastically reduce the price of Match Pass to keep people interested.

I’ve said this before, but ESPN+ is truly an amazing deal at $5 a month. And not just for soccer either. The streaming service has a range of live events, including MLB, NHL, UFC and a ton of college games across a range of sports. It also offers a solid library of ESPN’s scripted and studio/analysis content as well — if you’re into that sort of thing.

In terms of soccer, ESPN+ was already home to a large slate of MLS games that aren’t shown on ESPN/ESPN2 or Fox/FS1. The service also has some or all rights to Serie A (Italian league), the EFL Championship (English second division), Liga MX (Mexico), Superliga (Denmark), Eredivisie (Netherlands) and Allsvenskan (Sweden) matches. Even if every game from a league isn’t in the app, that’s still a metric ton of soccer to choose from each week, and well worth the asking price.

It’s a timely grab for ESPN, as many young USMNT players are in the German league right now. Bundesliga CEO Robert Klein said in a statement that “Germany will continue to be an important source of talent for future US national teams and with ESPN we’re incredibly excited to take fans on their journey in the lead up to their home World Cup in 2026.”

It also helps add to a list of soccer leagues ESPN+ is streaming that includes Serie A, English Cups and MLS — all just in time before Disney launches its bundle November 12th that ties the network to Hulu and Disney+ streaming for $12.99 per month.

If you didn’t already buy into the three-years-upfront D23 plan for Disney+ streaming, the doors are open for subscribers, at the promised rates of $69.99 annually, or $6.99 per month. The service started taking sign-ups tonight during the Emmys while other streamers (mostly Amazon) took home trophies, but with more than 25 original series and ten films promised in the first year, it will be interesting to see if they’re on the stage next year.

Going for the annual plan is the only way to get a discount at this point, as those wanting to bundle their subscription with access to ad-supported Hulu and ESPN+ at a $12.99 rate will have to wait until the service launches November 12th to sign up. If you’re still not sure if the service will be worth it at the start, there is a free 7-day trial period.

Of course, since Disney’s announcement in 2017 that it would launch its own streaming service, Disney+ was immediately billed as a Netflix rival — which is understandable considering how dominant Netflix has been in that business over the past few years. But Paull sees it differently. “I don’t really think about it in that way,” he said about Disney+ being a Netflix rival. “If we create and we bring quality programming, there’s room for a multitude of players in this space, just like in the traditional [TV] ecosystem there was room for a whole bunch of different networks.” Instead, Paull added, “when we’re thinking about this product, this experience and the programming, we’re thinking about the end consumer.”

One of the biggest challenges in launching Disney+, Paull said, has been figuring out “the complexity of a global service.” On November 12th, Disney+ will be available in the US, Canada and the Netherlands, followed by Australia and New Zealand on November 19th. That will be the start of Disney’s rollout plans for its streaming service, which the company expects to be live in “most major global markets” within the first two years of its launch. “There’s a lot of complexity under the hood,” he said, pointing to how difficult it can be to build a product “that can scale, that can support a broad array of [devices]” and that can “take on massive concurrent streaming with a breadth of programming.”

In Europe, for example, Paull said Disney has to understand local laws that Disney+ needs to comply with, like the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation. GDPR may be the reason Disney+ hasn’t shared any details yet on when it will arrive in the UK, which has the potential to be a major market for the company. Paull said the Disney+ team has also been learning a lot from ESPN+, the standalone sports streaming service it launched in 2018, as well as the majority acquisition of BAMTech in 2017. (BAMTech is the startup behind the video-streaming tech powering services including Hulu, Hulu with Live TV, ESPN+ and, now, Disney+

“As an organization, we’ve learned a lot from that experience [ESPN+],” said Paull, “in terms of bringing product to market, marketing that product, acquiring subscribers, keeping them engaged and we will learn from all of those lessons.” With BAMTech, on the other hand, he said Disney was able to have a “strong and deep base knowledge of building, marketing and operating direct-to-consumer services,” which has laid the foundation for Disney+. We’re taking all of the experience we’ve had over the years, whether it’s the streaming experience, getting people to sign up or the learnings about creating an elegant [service].”

Paull said that, ultimately, the key is to offer people a streaming service that makes it easy for them to watch the shows and movies they love most. The Disney+ experience, he said, should be seamless whether you’re watching on your iPhone, Android phone, Apple TV or Xbox One. “We want to make sure that the product doesn’t get in the way of the content,” Paull said. “We want to delight consumers with the product. But, really, in the end the product is the content.”

Images: Angela Papuga/Getty Images (Disney+ stage at D23 Expo)

The launch of Disney+ is now 97 days out, and according to CEO Bob Iger, “nothing is more important” than getting the launch a direct-to-consumer offering right. While Disney blamed its Fox purchase for not meeting certain expectations, content like The Simpsons — and control of Hulu — that came as part of the deal will play a huge part as it tries to find the next way to profit as cable continues to fade.

Developing…

We haven’t heard exactly how much Disney will charge for its streaming service, but at today’s investor event its Direct to Consumer president Kevin Mayer announced an interesting note about its plans. Whatever it costs, you will “likely” be able to get a discount once it launches later this year by subscribing to a bundle of Disney+, the ESPN+ internet service and Hulu, which it now has a controlling stake in after the acquisition of Fox.

That could be appealing to cord cutters, at the right price and with enough content, but without knowing more about Disney+ we’re not sure. We should find out more information about the streaming service in just a few minutes.

Update: After several hours, Disney finally revealed the price: $6.99 per month or $69.99 per year.