Credit: DisneyDisney Advertising President Rita Ferro is doubling down on streaming ads, claiming that half of all new Disney+ subscribers are opting for the lower-priced ad-supported tier of the service over ad-free content. While the increasing push to add commercials to every major streaming service may be controversial among some Disney fans, it’s clear that the company is committed to ads.
At the CES Tech and Data Showcase for advertisers (per Deadline), Rita Ferro pushed hard on both the idea that the Walt Disney Company is uniquely suited to compete in the streaming wars and that Disney+ subscribers wanted to pay a lower price for ad-supported content.
According to Ferro, the difference in subscriber viewing time between ad-supported and ad-free tiers was negligible, which she says “speaks to the combined quality of our user experience, our content, and our advertising.”
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Currently, ad-supported Disney+ Basic costs 7.99 a month, while Disney+ Premium has been increased to $13.99 a month, double the cost the service was originally launched at in 2019. It is very apparent that the House of Mouse is very invested in getting subscribers to sign up for ads, even if it has to take a bite out of its subscription costs.
Disney’s last annual shareholder reports revealed that its streaming service is nowhere close to profitable, and is actually losing the company a staggering amount of money every quarter. CEO Bob Iger has been very vocal that he views streaming content as the future of the Walt Disney Company, despite it currently being a financial liability, and it appears that wooing advertisers is the top strategy.
Rita Ferro also differentiated the Walt Disney Company’s streaming abilities from competitors like Netflix, Max, and Paramount+, saying, “We’re not renting or borrowing our technology…It’s no one else’s technology. We own it. And unlike others, who recently decided to get into the advertising business as part of their business strategy, Disney is in it from the beginning.”
Related: Disney+ Now Free for Millions of Customers
Disney has announced plans to incorporate “shoppable” experiences as part of its streaming experiences, which undoubtedly will also be of interest to advertisers. Only time will tell if subscribers are actually fine with ads becoming a universal part of the Disney+ experience.
Inside the Magic reached out to Disney for comment, but has not heard back by the time of publishing.
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