Disney+ Takes Another Step Towards Ad-Based Subscriptions

Commercials — you probably love some and can’t stand others, but for those who watch regular TV or streaming services with ads, they’re inescapable.

It seems that more and more streaming services are hopping on the ad train. Netflix could introduce ads by the end of the year, and Disney+ will be introducing their own ad-supported version of the streaming service by the end of the year as well. Now we’ve got an update on just how Disney’s attempts to sell ads on its services is going.

According to Variety, Disney has reportedly made some business deals already when it comes to ads. Specifically, Variety reports that Disney is said to have “written some business with at least one major media buying agency.”

According to one media buyer, this places Disney “ahead of the market.” Typically, as part of the annual upfront process, TV networks will try to sell much of their ad inventory ahead of the next programming cycle.

Just how are these upfront conversations going? Well, one person told Variety that they’re going “very well” and that Disney is seeing “‘avid demand’ for “entertainment programming, sports, live events, and content aimed at diverse audiences.”

According to some executives at networks and media agencies, TV companies haven’t been fighting for some of the big increases in rates that they got last year. Variety shares that some people have suggested to them that in 2022, the networks are negotiating hikes in rates that are more in the mid-to-high-single-digit percentage range.

Variety points out that Disney has quite a bit of “highly-coveted commercial inventory to sell.” That includes ESPN’s Monday Night Football, a show tied to Payton and Eli Manning, and games from Major League Baseball, NBA, and NHL that ESPN has the rights to show.

Variety also shares that Disney is “giving advertisers access to limited ad inventory in Marvel and Star Wars series, along with other programs, that run on a new ad-supported version of Disney+.”

(L-R): Grand Inquisitor (Rupert Friend) and a Stormtrooper in a scene from Lucasfilm’s OBI-WAN KENOBI, exclusively on Disney+. © 2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.

The way people watch TV has changed. Thanks to a greater emphasis on streaming there have been some changes made when it comes to advertisers and ad sales. According to Variety, advertisers are now finding themselves in a position where they are spreading more of their money to ad-supported streaming options. Considering that ad unit prices can be cheaper on streaming versus regular tv, that means their money can go even further when it comes to ads on streaming services. As a result of all of this, competition for ads on streaming services is heating up.

Variety shares that there has been some speculation that Publicis Media has closed some early upfront deals. Disney and Publicis have been partners in the past, but a Publicis spokesperson has not responded to Variety’s request for comments on this matter.

Overall it seems Disney is making a decent amount of progress when it comes to drumming up interest and reportedly closing a deal related to ads for some of its many media options (though it’s not specified what business/es the deal related to). We’ll continue to keep an eye out for any news related to Disney and specifically its ad-supported Disney+ service that is set to debut this year.

To learn more about just how many ads you’ll see on Disney+, click here. And to see what type of ads Disney+ won’t show, click here. Stay tuned for more Disney news!