It is no mystery that Disney is planning to launch a new subscription plan made cheaper thanks to the inclusion of advertising. The news was first disclosed as an indiscretion and then officially confirmed by the company’s top management.
Based on official information, it is known that the new plan will be launched by the end of the year in the United States and next year also in other countries, but so far there have been no details on how, in practice, the advertisements will be introduced and how intrusive they will be. final user.
ADVERTISING YES, BUT WITHOUT EXAGGERATION
To provide advances on how to insert advertising are two reliable sources, the Variety site and the Wall Street Journal: from the first reports, it emerges that, at least initially, the advertising in Disney + will be quite discreet. More in detail:
- Advertisements for a duration of four minutes will be placed in films and episodes of TV series with a duration equal to or less than one hour;
- The content of the announcements will be in line with the Disney + philosophy, which is to offer content suitable for families. Therefore, there will be no advertisements that touch on topics more aimed at more adult users, for example, advertising of alcoholic substances or political topics;
- Predictably enough, Disney will not accept advertising from competing streaming services;
- No advertisements will be placed on all contents accessible through the “Child Profile”;
- No advertisements will be placed in all content aimed at a preschool audience, even if the user has not activated the “Child Profile”.
From the first rumors, therefore, a rather cautious approach to the use of advertising emerges. Also, just compare the number of advertisements that will be shown on Disney + with that of other streaming services:
- Peacock (NBC): 5 minutes per hour
- HBO Max (HBO): 4 minutes per hour
- Hulu (Disney): 9-12 commercials per hour
- Disney +: 4 minutes per hour
The Disney + solution would therefore result in the least invasive ones in the sector (HBO Max and Peacock) being online. The sources, however, do not reveal the most anticipated detail: how much advertising will allow reducing the price of the subscription. If Disney does not make price changes compared to the current figures, it would necessarily be necessary to assume a request of less than 8.99 / month or 89.90 / euro per year for ad-free subscriptions.
The subscription with advertising is one of the solutions implemented by Disney + to cope with the growing costs of production, without making them fall directly on the end-users. For the sake of completeness, it should be remembered that Disney has recently returned to propose the other solution that could be complementary to the new plan with advertising, namely the increase in the price of the subscription; However, a decision has not yet been taken on this point