Verizon's latest phone plans bundle Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN

Verizon (disclaimer: this author also writes for Verizon-owned Engadget) thinks it has a simple way to reel in customers from AT&T and T-Mobile: pile on more bonus services. The carrier is launching updated Mix & Match plans on August 20 that, in two cases, bundle Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus.

The Play More Unlimited plan ($45 per line for four lines) includes the three services alongside 5G access, ‘unlimited’ hotspot data with 15GB at LTE speeds, and six months of Apple Music. Spend $55 per month (again, per line for four lines) on Get More Unlimited and you’ll get a full Apple Music subscription as well as 30GB of LTE hotspot data, half off Unlimited connected device plans, and 600GB of Verizon cloud storage.

Those who don’t care for the bundle can get a Do More Unlimited plan that offers comparable features and pricing to Play More but replaces the services with the connected device discounts and cloud storage from the Get More plan. You still get six months of Disney Plus and Apple Music.

The provider is also improving its $35 Just Kids plan to include unlimited data, albeit at a modest 5Mbps on LTE.

See also: Our guide to the best phone plans

This is a not-so-subtle counter to AT&T’s plans, and to a lesser degree T-Mobile’s as well. The bundle gives Verizon subscribers not only a rough counterpart to HBO Max with a host of movies and TV shows, but also live sports. T-Mobile currently offers Netflix (either Basic or Standard depending on your plan) and Quibi.

The same catches apply as with any other attempt to attract you with services, however. Your subscriptions to Disney’s offerings will only last so long as you’re a Verizon customer — switch to a rival and you’ll have to pay for all of the services separately, which could get expensive. It’s a way of locking you in. This might not be such a problem if you like Verizon and don’t intend to switch for a long time, but it could be a pain if you prefer to keep your options open.