Disney+ promises to keep ads to a minimum on its new ad-supported tier

Disney announced in early March that Disney+ will be introducing an ad-supported subscription tier in addition to its option without ads, beginning in the U.S. in late 2022.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Disney+ will carry about four minutes of commercials an hour on its ad-supported tier. The company also said preschool programming will not have any commercials at all. Preschoolers who use their own profile to watch the ad-supported Disney+ won’t see any advertising no matter what they choose to stream, they said.

“We’re never going to collect data on individual kids to target them,” said Rita Ferro, Disney’s president of ad sales and partnerships.

Company officials say the four-minute-per-hour ad load is significantly smaller than most of Disney+’s competitors and what can be found on traditional TV. Rita Ferro said that Hulu’s ad-supported tier, which is also controlled by Disney, shows almost twice as many ads as Disney+.

While the cost of the ad-supported version of Disney+ is not yet known, Disney executives have indicated recently that there will likely be a price increase on the currently available ad-free tier.

The Wall Street Journal also reported that ad buyers said Disney+ is seeking to charge advertisers about $50 to $60 CPM (cost per thousand).

Disney plans to expand the new ad-supported subscription tier internationally in 2023.