Disney +, a lower priced subscription with advertising may be in the offing

Disney +, a lower priced subscription with advertising may be in the offing

Disney +

Disney + could offer a subscription at a lower price but with advertising, based on what was found by The Information, which sees it probable, by the company, the application of a solution similar to that already adopted for Hulu, another streaming platform of the same company.

Experimentation could start in the US, with a plan similar to the one available for Hulu, which currently offers a subscription at $ 12.99 per month as standard or at $ 6.99 per month with advertising . Similar solutions are also proposed by HBO Max, Paramount + and NBC Universal, so for Disney + it would be a simple alignment to other current examples.

There are still no precise predictions on how and when this change could be introduced in Disney +, but according to the source, the new solution would be studied and likely to be applied in the coming months. In that case, it would start from the US but the spread of the lowest-priced subscription with advertising to the rest of the world would then be probable.

In the meantime, Disney + has reached 129.8 million subscribers, in constant growth, according to the data released last month, therefore it is a period of expansion of the platform and a reshaping of the offer does not yet seem imminent. In the past few days, it has emerged that Daredevil, Jessica Jones and other Marvel Netflix series are coming to Disney +.

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Disney Plus to Add a Cheaper Tier With Ads Late This Year

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Disney Plus is joining the widening ranks of services offering both ad-free and ad-supported options. 

Sarah Tew/CNET

Disney Plus will introduce a cheaper, ad-supported subscription in the US late this year to complement the $8-a-month ad-free subscription it already offers, Disney said Friday. The company said the ad-supported option would widen to Disney Plus internationally next year.  

Disney didn't specify the new tier's price or launch date, nor did it indicate whether the ad-supported tier's introduction would affect how much an ad-free membership costs. 


Adding a cheaper option for Disney Plus is designed to make it easier for price-sensitive people to sign up. As the ranks of streaming services has swelled in the last two years, the number of service that people must considering add to their monthly budgets has gone up too. But Disney Plus is already among the cheapest streaming services of its kind, and Disney executives have repeatedly noted that Disney Plus' relatively low subscription price would rise as the service pumps itself full of more programming. 


Lowering the price hurdle to sign up new members is especially important for upstart services like Disney Plus. Beyond that, these cheaper tiers with advertising can also be more profitable the ad-free ones, and Disney already has a long track record with the practice. Its service Hulu has offered a cheaper, ad-supported level for years.


The move puts Disney Plus among the growing ranks of services defecting from the ad-free-only norm established by Netflix, the world's dominant streaming service with more than 221 million global members. HBO Max, Peacock and Paramount Plus offer tiers that include commercials and ads in exchange for a lower subscription price. 


'Expanding access to Disney Plus to a broader audience at a lower price point is a win for everyone -- consumers, advertisers, and our storytellers,' said Kareem Daniel, the chairman of Disney's division in charge of streaming. 'More consumers will be able to access our amazing content. Advertisers will be able to reach a wider audience, and our storytellers will be able to share their incredible work with more fans and families.'


Disney Plus currently offers the single option for an ad-free subscription, which in the US is priced at $8 a month or $80 a year. By comparison, Netflix, which has no ads, offers its cheapest tier at $10 a month, while its most popular plan is $15.50. Only Apple TV Plus, at $5 a month, is cheaper than Disney Plus among the the main competitors. 


Among the services that have ad-supported options, Hulu by itself is $7 a month with ads and $13 a month ad-free. Paramount Plus charges $5 for its tier with advertising, and $10 for the ad-free version. HBO Max is $10 a month if you watch with ads or $15 a month to strip out all commercials. 


(You can also bundle Disney Plus with ad-supported Hulu and ESPN Plus for $14, or with ad-free Hulu and ESPN Plus for $20 a month.)


Friday, Disney said that an ad-free tier was crucial for it to reach its goal of reaching 230 million to 260 million  subscribers by its 2024 fiscal year. Disney's 2022 fiscal year began in October. The service had 129.8 million subscribers as of Jan. 1, after adding 11.7 million members in the last three months of 2021.


The Information earlier reported Thursday that Disney Plus was considering an ad-supported tier.


Read more: Disney Plus: When and How to Stream Eternals, Turning Red and Everything Else


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