Disney could introduce an ad-supported Disney+ free tier in the future, says Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro. D’Amaro’s comments came during the company’s latest earnings call (via The Wrap).
D’Amaro said a free tier could allow Disney to reach people unwilling to pay for a subscription:
First, we see it as a way to expand our reach to a customer segment that’s more price-sensitive. Expanding our reach is, as we’ve talked about before, one of our strategic priorities. Second, unlike a lot of our AVOD competitors, we’re fairly well sold, meaning more inventory would actually help us accelerate our ad revenue growth. And then finally, as you mentioned in your question, a free offering could help us drive top-of-funnel Disney+ subscriber growth. So nothing specific to announce today, but definitely something that we’re considering.
Disney+ has approximately 130 million global subscribers and is one of the most-watched streaming services in the United States. Disney+’s main competitors, like Apple TV and Netflix don’t offer a completely free tier. However, there are several free ad-supported services out there, such as Tubi and The Roku Channel. YouTube also offers ad-supported Hollywood content.
