Disney+ has publicly announced that the lengths of the commercial breaks for the subscribers to their new ad-supported option will be smaller than they may have expected. The acclaimed streaming service launched on November 12, 2019 and has since only risen in popularity, currently standing with over 137.7 million subscribers. Home to most of Disney's movies and TV shows, the service boasts a massive library of selections from Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm and National Geographic. In addition to housing previously released titles, Disney+ is the home of several buzzy MCU and Star Wars originals.
Two months ago, Disney+ announced that they will launch an ad-supported subscription plan around the end of this year, at a lower price point. As of now, the specific pricing scheme and launch date are still unknown. It is known, however, that this play is part of the streaming service's campaign to eventually reach 230 - 260 million subscribers. It is far from the only service to do this, as those like HBO Max already offer such a thing. Netflix is currently considering one as well.
According to a report from WSJ, Disney+ will feature about four minutes of advertisements per hour of streaming, which is less than that of most of Disney+’s rivals, and also significantly smaller than what is usually seen on traditional TV. The streaming service has also decided not to run any ads during programming that caters to preschool kids, according to officials. They say that preschoolers who use their own profile to watch the ad-supported tier of Disney+ will not see any commercials, no matter what they choose to watch. Rita Ferro, Disney’s president of ad sales and partnerships, announced that “We’re never going to collect data on individual kids to target them."
Ad buyers are saying that Disney+ is seeking to charge advertisers about $50 to $60 for reaching one thousand viewers — a measure known as a CPM, or cost per thousand. Disney refused to give a comment on their pricing. This price range is more or less in line with other top streaming services, but it still remains costly, given that brands aren't able to request having their ad appear in specific programs, which is something they are usually able to do on traditional TV.
Seeing as how most people don't like waiting for ads when it comes to streaming, it should be seen as a relief that the commercial breaks in Disney+'s upcoming ad-supported tier will be so short in length. Given this, it can be assumed that subscribers won't mind paying a cheaper price for one of the most popular streaming services on the Internet. After all, it feels like quite the small sacrifice compared to Disney's vast world of content.
Source: WSJ