Ad-supported Disney+ subscriptions will keep ads at 4 minutes per hour

Disney is set to offer ad-supported low-cost subscription plans for the Disney+ streaming platform. Those 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 insight into what subscribers can expect from these supposedly cheaper subscriptions than those that currently exist. Apparently, Disney would limit commercials to four minutes per hour of streaming. This limit is comparatively lower than the five minutes of ads aired per hour on NBC’s Peacock and the 12 ads per hour on Disney-owned Hulu.

A Wall Street Journal report citing company executives says Disney aims to run no more than four minutes of ads per hour on Disney+. Quoting Rita Ferro, president of sales and advertising partnerships at Disney, the report goes on to say that Hulu’s ad-supported tier runs ads for almost twice as long in comparison.

The report adds that Disney planned to run no commercials with shows or movies aimed at preschoolers. Additionally, children using a Kid profile will not see any ads regardless of the type of content they choose to watch.

Variety also reports, citing people familiar with the matter, that in an effort to maintain its family image, Disney would not accept alcohol or political ads for Disney+. The media giant can even reject ads from rival streaming platforms and entertainment studios to prevent them from poaching its audience.

Earlier this year in March, Disney announced plans to launch low-cost subscriptions for Disney+ that would be supported by advertisements. The plans are expected to grow the streaming platform’s audience base and boost its revenue as it seeks to hit its profitability target by 2024.

According to a recent report, Disney+ gained 7.9 million subscribers in the first quarter of 2022 to reach a total of 137.7 million subscribers. This development stands in stark contrast to its rival, Netflix, which reportedly lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022. This loss of subscribers caused Netflix’s stock prices to plummet. In the face of these events, Netflix may also consider ad-supported subscriptions in the future. The company even plans to crack down on password sharing.

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