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Update March 4: Disney has officially announced that it will be introducing an ad-supported Disney+ subscription starting in the U.S. in late 2022 and expanding internationally in 2023. Pricing has yet to be announced.


Disney is considering launching a cheaper, ad-supported version of the Disney+ streaming service in the United States, reports The Information.

disney-plus.jpg

A more affordable subscription tier could boost subscriber growth, which The Information says has started to slow. Disney had more than 118 million subscribers in November, at the two year mark after the service launched, and it is now at over 130 million subscribers. Disney expects to have 230 to 260 million paid subscribers by 2024.

Other entertainment companies like Discovery, NBCUniversal, WarnerMedia, and Paramount have launched ad-supported subscription tiers to offer content at multiple price points. Right now, Disney+ is priced at $7.99 per month or $79.99 per year, and an ad-based tier would be cheaper than that.

Discovery+ and Paramount+ offer ad-supported tiers priced at $4.99, so Disney could potentially do something similar, allowing it to boost revenue to offset programming costs. Disney plans to spend at least $8 billion per year on Disney+ by 2024, and the company has so far been adding high-profile new content on a regular basis.

If Disney+ offers an ad-supported tier, it would make Apple TV+ and Netflix two of the only services not to offer a cheaper streaming option. Right now, Apple TV+ is priced competitively even with ad-based services at $4.99 per month, but Apple does not have the wealth of content that other streaming services are able to offer.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Disney+. When you click a link and purchase a subscription, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Article Link: Disney Launching Cheaper, Ad-Supported Version of Disney+ Starting in Late 2022 [Updated]
 
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Realityck

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Nov 9, 2015
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Being that its currently $8 month or $80 a year ($6.66/month), why would they need cheaper ad supported subscriptions? They already are a lot more reasonable then HBO Max or Netflix for similar video content quality.

BTW all the Marvel TV series content that was on Netflix has been removed and will be added to Disney + on March 16th.

 
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DeepIn2U

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May 30, 2002
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Make it free with ads... then we'll talk.

Otherwise... step off with that nonsense.

:p

I hope you don’t have young kids wanting that.

Bad enough years ago some kids would endlessly sing Frozen‘s theme song for hours out of a day. Now with ads, targeted ads, kids will hassle and whine at you for every single toy, shoes, and things they want to go with their favourite show/movie. Back to the 1980’s again here we go Marty.
 

DeepIn2U

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May 30, 2002
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Why bother. Its $8 month or $80 a year ($6.66/month). All the Marvel content that was on Netflix has been removed and will be added to Disney + on March 16th.


Unless you mean will happen on March 16th I still see many Marvel movies on Netflix here in Canada:
Iron Man 2 & 3
Black Panther
Avengers 1 & 2

Didn’t know about the TV shows much appreciate that link. Now I’d LOVE to see new shows for Luke Cage and Jessica Jones - both had great season 2 & 3 story arches and finished off properly.

Iron Fist … I’m still struggling to get past 15mins of Episode 1 of Season 2. Season 1 was great but man who’s the writer for Season 2 really screwed the pooch on that one.

Looks like I have a few days to catch up before they’re moved over.
 

Michael Scrip

macrumors 604
Mar 4, 2011
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I hope you don’t have young kids wanting that.

Bad enough years ago some kids would endlessly sing Frozen‘s theme song for hours out of a day. Now with ads, targeted ads, kids will hassle and whine at you for every single toy, shoes, and things they want to go with their favourite show/movie. Back to the 1980’s again here we go Marty.

I was just saying that it's crazy to pay for something and still get ads.

At least make it free if you want to bombard me with ads. :p

But I can see you what you're saying too.

It would be interesting to know, from a revenue standpoint, how much money these streaming services make from ads versus just collecting straight cash directly from subscribers.

There are quite a few streaming services that offer paid but ad-supported tiers... so the data must be out there.
 

Realityck

macrumors G3
Nov 9, 2015
9,806
14,545
Silicon Valley, CA
Unless you mean will happen on March 16th I still see many Marvel movies on Netflix here in Canada:
Iron Man 2 & 3
Black Panther
Avengers 1 & 2

Didn’t know about the TV shows much appreciate that link. Now I’d LOVE to see new shows for Luke Cage and Jessica Jones - both had great season 2 & 3 story arches and finished off properly.

Iron Fist … I’m still struggling to get past 15mins of Episode 1 of Season 2. Season 1 was great but man who’s the writer for Season 2 really screwed the pooch on that one.

Looks like I have a few days to catch up before they’re moved over.
TV shows are already removed. Didn't mean movies. You're fortunate being in Canada you have Star instead of the Hulu predicament in the states. But that will eventually go as Comcast releases its part ownership to Disney some time before 2024. It could happen earlier, up to them as they have their own service Peacock. Hulu is only available in USA and Japan. :)
 
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ApplesAreSweet&Sour

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Sep 18, 2018
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This kind of lower-priced but ad-supported subscription model only serves to get you engaged in the content and then end up paying the fully priced one just to get rid of the ads.

The other companies that offer this play way to many ads for you to enjoy anything.

If they do this then it should be free with ads since they'll obviously show way too many ads and not the kind you can just ignore, in-between the episodes. It's going to be the ones that jump-scare you right at the moments where you're most engaged in the content.
 

DeepIn2U

macrumors G5
May 30, 2002
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Toronto, Ontario, Canada
I was just saying that it's crazy to pay for something and still get ads.

At least make it free if you want to bombard me with ads. :p

But I can you what you're saying too.

It would be interesting to know, from a revenue standpoint, how much money these streaming services make from ads versus just collecting straight cash directly from subscribers.

There are quite a few streaming services that offer paid but ad-supported tiers... so the data must be out there.

Fully agreed.

And yes having clear separation of monetization streams from various sources clearly laid out SHOULD be part of reporting. Maybe something shareholders should push for?

Also … if you look at movies in the 80’s … ads where everywhere:

Coke - BIG ad on a truck in Christopher Reeves‘ Superman.

Some movies had ads ON the TV (The original Robocop was sneaky by using their own made up ads: I’d buy that for a dollar -or- the SUX car with that terrible dinosaur). That god we’re not there yet in streaming but who knows maybe soon if not already done and I just don’t know it yet?

Still paying for streaming and still getting ads - we gotta vote with our dollar and if there is enough dollars lost then reviews may get sent out and change occurs, but it’s a very slow process.

If I was in marketing for a huge global brand I’d have an embedded ad with a click button (and pay with your device confirmation) for things like Toys. Example IronMan 1 is fabricating the Mark III in ostentatious gold and red, place a small toy on the table to the left/right of the screen and a tiny button ‘buy’. Kid watches movie with dad for the first time, clicks buy on ATV remote, Dad accepts on his iPad/macOS/iPhone boom done. Same could be done with jewlry or outfits (especially what the ladies like).
 

Michael Scrip

macrumors 604
Mar 4, 2011
7,922
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NC
Fully agreed.

And yes having clear separation of monetization streams from various sources clearly laid out SHOULD be part of reporting. Maybe something shareholders should push for?

Also … if you look at movies in the 80’s … ads where everywhere:

Coke - BIG ad on a truck in Christopher Reeves‘ Superman.

Some movies had ads ON the TV (The original Robocop was sneaky by using their own made up ads: I’d buy that for a dollar -or- the SUX car with that terrible dinosaur). That god we’re not there yet in streaming but who knows maybe soon if not already done and I just don’t know it yet?

Still paying for streaming and still getting ads - we gotta vote with our dollar and if there is enough dollars lost then reviews may get sent out and change occurs, but it’s a very slow process.

Exactly.

I'd rather have product placement instead of hard breaks in the content for Geico Insurance or whatever.

I love the gecko... but come on.

?
 

DeepIn2U

macrumors G5
May 30, 2002
12,821
6,875
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Exactly.

I'd rather have product placement instead of hard breaks in the content for Geico Insurance or whatever.

I love the gecko... but come on.

?

Yeah that lizard is dieing a really harsh and slow death. I think even one ad they gave him a vacation that STILL was interrupted. Ads can be effective but some are just too much. Super Bowl years ago started teh QuestTrade ads with the baby then a team of baby’s (I got stocks given to me by my father, ‘by his Faaaather lol). These although funny took away the attention and focus of the move and effectively broke the flow of the plot.

product placement always seemed to be better, subtle and if done right made much better sense, yet easily forgotten once the movie was done.
 
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nutmac

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I suspect Disney is gearing toward cheaper Disney Bundle (Disney+, ESPN+, Hulu), which is currently priced at $13.99/month (vs. $19.99/month for ad-free bundle). If the same $6 discount carries over from Hulu to Disney+, that could mean the bundle maybe priced as low as $7.99/month. At the very least, $9.99/month.
 

winxmac

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Sep 1, 2021
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Wasn't the reason people switched from TV provider to on-demand content to get rid of ads? Wasn't the reason of on-demand streaming to get rid of ads? Wasn't the reason of the subscription payment to get rid of ads? Wasn't there another subscription service that offered it cheaper but with ads? I forgot what service that was...

Spotify has free option but with ads... YouTube has free option but with ads... However some YouTube creators include sponsorship ads in their videos...
 
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