Disney is planning the launch of a cheaper, ad-supported version of its Disney+ streaming service later this year. Now comes news that the company plans to run fewer ads on the lower-priced plan than those offered by competing streaming services.
Disney will run ads for four minutes on movies and shows that last an hour or less, according to Variety and The Wall Street Journal.
That four-minute ad limit is the same as HBO Max, less than the five minutes of ads shown by NBC’s Peacock service, and much less than Disney’s own Hulu, which shows between nine and 12 minutes of ads per hour of content. Viewers of traditional broadcast networks are usually forced to sit through 18 to 23 minutes of commercial blurbs per hour.
Disney also told TechCrunch that there will be no commercials played during programming aimed at preschool viewers.
Disney has not yet announced the actual price of the new tier of service, which is set to debut in the United States later this year. However, it is expected that Disney will increase the price of the ad-free plan once the ad-supported tier debuts. Currently, the ad-free plan is priced at $7.99 per month.
Adding a more affordable subscription tier could boost subscriber growth, which the report says is beginning to slow. At its two-year anniversary mark (November 2021), Disney+ had more than 118 million subscribers. It now boasts more than 130 million subscribers. Disney is aiming for 230 to 260 million paid subscribers by 2024.
