Disney+ Ad-Supported Subscriptions Will Keep Ads Down to 4 Minutes an Hour

Disney is set to offer low-cost ad-supported subscription plans for the Disney+ streaming platform. These plans are expected to arrive later this year in the United States followed by other countries in 2023. Now, new reports are emerging that offer some insight into what subscribers can expect from these supposedly cheaper subscriptions than the currently existing ones. Reportedly, Disney would limit the ads to four minutes per hour of streaming. This limit is comparatively lower than the five minutes of ads shown per hour on NBC's Peacock and the 12 ads an hour rate of Disney-owned Hulu.

A report by The Wall Street Journal citing company executives claims that Disney aims not to run more than four minutes of ads per hour on Disney+. Citing Rita Ferro, Disney's president of ad sales and partnerships, the report goes on to say that Hulu's ad-supported tier shows ads for nearly twice the amount of time in comparison.

The report adds that Disney has planned to not run any commercials with shows or movies aimed at preschool children. Furthermore, children using a Kid's profile will not see any ads regardless of the type of content they choose to watch.

Variety is also reporting, citing people familiar with the matter, that in a bid to maintain its family-friendly image, Disney would not accept alcohol or political advertisements for Disney+. The media giant may even reject ads from rival streaming platforms and entertainment studios to prevent them from poaching its audience.

Earlier this year in March, Disney had announced its intention to release low-cost subscriptions for Disney+ that would be supported by advertisements. These plans are expected to increase the audience base of the streaming platform and increase its revenue as it seeks to reach its goal of profitability by 2024.

According to a recent report, Disney+ gained 7.9 million subscribers in the first quarter of 2022 to hit a total of 137.7 million subscribers. This development is in stark contrast to its rival, Netflix, which has reportedly lost 200,000 subscribers in Q1 2022. This loss of subscribers resulted in Netflix's stock prices tumbling down. In the face of these events, Netflix may also look at ad-supported subscriptions in the future. The company even plans to clamp down on password sharing.