(Bloomberg) -- Wireless carriers used to compete by cutting prices. Now the battle to win new customers is being fought over who's giving away the best streaming service.
Verizon Communications Inc. is adding Walt Disney Co.'s Hulu and ESPN+ to its free Disney+ offer, starting Thursday. The package, known as the Disney+ Bundle, is free for new customers who sign on for certain unlimited plans.
The rising popularity of streaming services has given wireless carriers a new promotional tool to take some of the pressure off the industry's profit-eroding price wars. The bundle Verizon is giving away normally costs $13 a month. T-Mobile US Inc. offers $13 Netflix Inc. service to its customers free. And AT&T Inc. is including free HBO Max streaming service, ordinarily $15 a month, in its Elite unlimited service plans.
The free Disney+ Bundle is included in Verizon's Get More and Play More Unlimited plans. The Play More offer starts at $80 a month. Existing Verizon customers who already get Disney+ can switch to the new unlimited plans to get the full bundle or pay $6 a month to add ESPN+ and Hulu.
Verizon is also introducing a variable group unlimited plan called Mix & Match, in which customers can pick different features within the service plan. For example, heavy users can take higher data allotments and light users can choose other options.
Verizon was Disney's exclusive wireless partner when the $7-a-month Disney+ streaming service was launched in November. Disney+ is estimated to have about 54.5 million subscribers.
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