Still, Disney+ is compelling. The company owns Lucasfilm (the “Star Wars” franchise), Marvel Studios (“The Avengers,” “Black Panther”), and Pixar (“Toy Story,” “Up”). The recent acquisition of 20th Century Fox gives it 20th Century Studios (“The Simpsons”) and the lion’s share of National Geographic content, too.
Disney+’s updated library of content includes such movies as “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” and “Avatar: The Way of Water.” Series include a second season of “Loki”; “The Beatles: Get Back,” from Peter Jackson; and the popular series “The Mandalorian,” set in the “Star Wars” universe. Coming shows include “Echo,” a Marvel series that’s an offshoot of the “Hawkeye” series.
While Disney+ is pretty compelling on its own, we’ve decided to splurge on one of the bundles Disney offers with Hulu and ESPN+.
Hulu—now wholly owned by Disney—fills a pretty big hole with content from popular broadcast and cable channels. Some shows can be watched in real time, but most are available either one day or one week later. That’s a good way to get programming from ABC, AMC, Bravo, Big Ten Network, CBS, E, ESPN, Fox, Fox Sports, FX, NBC, NFL Network, Oxygen, PBS, Syfy, and USA Network. Hulu is also home to originals such as “The Bear”; “Only Murders in the Building,” based on the novel; and “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Note, however, that many NBC shows are now available only on Peacock.
ESPN+ adds sports to the mix, including everything from Major League Baseball to college football and basketball, hockey, soccer, and UFC fights. You also get access to documentaries such as the “30 for 30” series.
There are now several plan options, all of which received price hikes late last year. Duo Basic, which costs $10 a month, gives you the ad-supported versions of both Disney+ and Hulu. An ad-free Duo Premium plan costs $20 a month. Trio Basic adds ESPN+ with ads, for $15 month, while a premium version of the bundle, called Trio Premium, has ad-free Disney+, ad-free Hulu, and ESPN+ for $25 a month.
To keep the price down, we’d suggest getting one of the ad-supported versions of the bundles. We’ve picked Duo Basic, but you can add ESPN+, for an additional $5 a month, if you’re a die-hard sports fan.
Total cost: With Paramount+ and the $10 price for the Duo Basic Disney+ bundle, we’ve now spent $18 of our $25 monthly budget. That doesn’t leave much money for a third service, but read on.
