Skip to main content

Disney+ is getting an ad-supported tier in 2022

Disney+ is going to launch an ad-supported tier that would make the streaming service more affordable, according to Kareem Daniel, chairman of Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, in a statement provided to The Hollywood Reporter.

“Expanding access to Disney+ to a broader audience at a lower price point is a win for everyone — consumers, advertisers, and our storytellers,” Daniel said. “More consumers will be able to access our amazing content. Advertisers will be able to reach a wider audience, and our storytellers will be able to share their incredible work with more fans and families.”

Shortly after we published this story, Disney confirmed its plans in a blog post.

No price has yet been set on the new tier, but it is expected to launch in the U.S. in 2022, with an international rollout in 2023. When Disney makes the new ad-supported tier available, it will join services like Hulu, Discovery+, Peacock, and HBO Max, which also offer ad-supported subscriptions. Disney’s biggest rivals, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV+, do not have ad-supported options.

Currently, Disney+ costs $8 per month or $80 per year. However, Disney+ isn’t Disney’s only streaming service. Following its acquisition of 21st Century Fox, Disney also controls Hulu, and it offers the sports-focused ESPN+. For $14, you can get a bundle that includes all three services, saving you $5 a month.

Disney+ has been growing rapidly since its launch in November 2019, and now has more than 42 million members in the U.S. and Canada, and 129 million subscribers worldwide, according to Statista. And while Netflix still has the biggest pool of subscribers (75 million in the U.S. and Canada and 221 million worldwide), it’s rate of growth is slowing, leading some analysts to predict that Disney+ will actually exceed Netflix’s total subscriber count by sometime in 2025. The service’s new ad-supported tier will likely accelerate that timeline when it launches.

Editors' Recommendations

Simon Cohen
Contributing Editor, A/V
Simon Cohen covers a variety of consumer technologies, but has a special interest in audio and video products, like…
Conan O’Brien gets a 24/7 show on Samsung TV Plus
Conan O'Brien TV on a Samsung TV.

The next phase of Conan O'Brien's storied career takes the comedian to ... Samsung? The two titans of their respective industries today announced a partnership that takes the original Conan show to Samsung TV Plus — that's the free ad-supported channel on Samsung TVs and phones — starting in June.

The channel is aptly named Conan O'Brien TV and will feature 30-minute collections of clips from the 11-year show that appeared on TBS from November 2010 to June 2021. They'll showcase the best of the late-nite show's archives, including his sketch comedy, guest interviews, and more. Clips will include the likes of John Hamm, Ryan Reynolds, Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Kevin Hart, Will Ferrell, Lisa Kudrow, Gal Godot, Kate McKinnon, Martin Short, for starters. Plus you'll get Triumph the Insult Dog — and, of course, Andy Richter.

Read more
Denon updates its network streamer with HDMI and big price bump
Denon DNP-2000NE network media player.

Denon's newest network media player, the DNP-2000NE, comes with several handy improvements, like the ability to connect it directly to your TV via HDMI ARC. While these improvements are welcome, what's a lot less exciting is the price. The DNP-2000NE is $1,599, a massive increase over its predecessor, the DNP-800NE, which Denon launched in 2018 for just $599.

Visually, the DNP-2000NE and 800NE appear to be nearly identical, with a graphic display on the front, accompanied by volume, source, and playback controls, plus a USB port and a headphone jack. You'll find the biggest changes on the back panel. Where the 800NE was restricted to a conservative group of output ports (fixed and variable analog, and digital optical), the 2000NE is awash in ports: the same analog offering, plus two optical inputs, a coaxial digital input, an optical and coaxial digital output, a USB-DAC input for computer connections, and that HDMI ARC input we mentioned earlier.

Read more
Amazon Fire TV Channels brings even more free TV to the platform
Amazon Fire TV Channels.

Amazon today announced Fire TV Channels, which brings even more free ad-supported TV — otherwise known as FAST — to the Amazon Fire TV operating system.

The gist is simple: You'll see even more free video promoted to you on the Amazon Fire TV home screen from the various sources within the FAST universe. That means in addition to all the content currently available on Amazon Freevee (formerly known as IMDB TV), there will be video from the NHL, Xbox, and TMZ. There will be a new travel category, too, and Conde Nast and the PGA are teed up next.

Read more