Half of All Disney+ Subscribers Choose Ad-Supported Plans
By Movieguide® Contributor
Most people sign up for streaming services to avoid ads, but Disney says half of its subscribers are opting to see commercials in exchange for lower prices.
At Disney’s annual Tech and Data Showcase, Disney Advertising President Rita Ferro pointed out that half of new subscribers to the streaming service are choosing the cheaper plan with ads. Ferro also said viewing times on Disney+’s ad-free and ad-supported tiers are about the same, which “speaks to the combined quality of our user experience, our content and our advertising,” per Deadline.
Currently, the ad-supported Disney+ plan costs $7.99 a month, while the ad-free plan is $13.99 a month — double the cost of what it was when Disney+ first launched in 2019.
Movieguide® previously reported on these price hikes:
As streaming services increase their monthly subscription rates, ‘Cancel Disney Plus’ has started trending.
“Streaming platforms have become a key part of many studios content distribution plans, but not all of them have been quite as successful as Disney+ was out of the gate,” Cinema Blend reported.
“However what started as an incredible subscription cost has been going steadily up over the last three and a half years. And with the news of the most recent Disney+ price increase and more, it looks like some fans have hit their limit, as ‘Cancel Disney Plus’ is currently trending,” the source continued. “It was confirmed that the ad-free version of a Disney+ subscription will jump from its current price of $10.99 per month to $13.99 per month.”
It’s no surprise that Disney is working hard to get new subscribers, even if that means offering cheaper plans. The company has been reporting major losses, especially regarding its streaming service.
“Overall, Disney’s streaming business lost $387 million in its [2023] Q4, a year-over-year improvement of 74% from a loss of $1.4 billion in the company’s Q4 2022,” Variety reported.
Despite the losses, Disney CEO Bob Iger is determined to make Disney+ profitable. The company has recently rolled out bundle plans that pair its content with Hulu and ESPN+.
“At the time the pandemic hit, we were leaning into a huge increase in how much we were making, and I’ve always felt that quantity can be actually a negative when it comes to quality,” he said, via Wired, of Disney+’s output.
Iger added that Disney will continue to license their property to other streaming services but will keep ahold of their most popular content.
“Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, for instance, are all doing very well on our platform,” he explained, “and I don’t see why, just to basically chase bucks, we should do that when they are really important building blocks to the current and future of our streaming business.”
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