Disney announces Disney+ Basic, its ads tier for $7.99 per month, launching in the US on December 8, and raises the ad-free price from $7.99 to $10.99 per month

Disney has set pricing and date for the U.S. launch of the version of Disney+ with ads, while also hiking the monthly price of the Disney+ tier with no ads. Source: The Walt Disney Company .

Variety 2022-08-11 Todd Spangler

Context & Ripple Effects

Disney had already signaled the ad-supported option in March as part of a subscriber-growth plan, while its 2020 price increase showed a willingness to charge more as it expanded the service. This announcement turns that earlier ad-tier plan into a defined U.S. pricing ladder.

The split matters because Disney is no longer relying on a single subscription price: it is preserving an entry price while making ad-free viewing a premium choice. The subsequent December rollout, backed by more than 100 advertisers, validates that the new tier also created an ad-sales product.

First-order effects

U.S. Disney+ subscribers who want no ads face a $3 monthly increase, while price-sensitive customers retain a $7.99 option with advertising.
Disney adds advertising revenue to its Disney+ model while charging more for the ad-free experience.

Second-order effects

Disney’s ad-sales team gains a new streaming inventory product whose value depends on attracting advertisers without eroding the appeal of the ad-free tier.
The unchanged entry price makes the ad-supported plan a retention tool for subscribers who might otherwise balk at the higher ad-free rate, while concentrating subscription revenue among customers who value uninterrupted viewing.

Third-order effects

Disney’s two-tier structure establishes a pricing template that later supports cross-service packaging, including the Disney+, Hulu, and Max bundle with separate ad-supported and ad-free prices.
If Disney continues to pair low-priced ad tiers with higher-priced premium tiers, streaming competition will center increasingly on monetization mix rather than a single monthly subscription price.

The trend: Disney is shifting Disney+ from a single-price subscription service toward tiered monetization that combines advertising-supported reach with premium price realization.

Discussion

@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
Disney+ has 221 million streaming subscribers and has passed Netflix's 220.7 million. To celebrate they're raising Disney+ price by 38% to $10.99 and adding an ad supported tier. Just like Netflix. We've reinvented the Cable business model. https://variety.com/...
@film_girl Christina Warren on x
People are going to be mad at this but like, $20 for ad-free Disney+, Hulu and ESPN seems more than fair for me. A much better deal than Netflix tbh https://variety.com/...
@xpangler Todd Spangler on x
as of Oct. 10, Disney will increase the price of Hulu with ads, from $6.99 to $7.99 per month, while the ad-free tier will go from $12.99 to $14.99 per month https://variety.com/...
@hillitech Wesley Hilliard on x
Even cheaper with Apple One. Apple TV+ is arguably the best content value per dollar in streaming by miles. https://twitter.com/...
@hillitech Wesley Hilliard on x
I'd pay $15 a month if they just made it an Apple TV channel. https://twitter.com/...
@kfury @kfury on x
A huge factor in how I feel about a streaming service is the company's dedication to the shows they produce: Apple TV+ and Disney+ are fantastic. Amazon Prime is pretty good. Netflix is okay. HBO Max is awful.
@sherman4949 Alex Sherman on x
The big story to me is Disney was expected to add 10m Disney+ subs. It actually added 15m, but it still had an overall streaming loss about $325 million worse than analysts ests, losing $1.1 billion in the quarter. US/Canada ARPU actually went down. https://www.cnbc.com/...
@exameter @exameter on x
remember, uTorrent is adware, use qBittorrent. ThePirateBay is dangerous and obsolete, use something like 1337x that has safety measures in place and isn't crap. Don't get suckered into an expensive multi-year VPN plan, find one that charges a flat monthly rate like mullvad. http…
@davidfowl David Fowler on x
I was waiting for cable to come back https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@nixxin Nikhil Pahwa on x
Some thoughts on this: 1. A law of markets: first there's bundling (cable tv). Then there's unbundling (streaming). Then there is bundling. We're already seeing bundling in India, as a part of telco plans, to reduce subscriber acquisition costs. 1/n https://variety.com/...
@grady_booch Grady Booch on x
All that is old is new again. https://twitter.com/...

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