Disney+ Won’t Have Ads in Profiles for Kids and Preschoolers at Launch

“This is going to be done very thoughtfully,” Walt Disney CFO Christine McCarthy says of launching the new ad-supported pricing tier

Bluey Disney+
Disney+

When Disney+ launches this December with an ad-supported pricing tier, it will not immediately launch with ads being included in the profiles for children or preschool-aged viewers, the Walt Disney Company CFO Christine McCarthy said on the company’s Wednesday earnings call.

“As it relates to the ad experience spread, it’s not all content on Disney+ being treated equally,” McCarthy said. “There will be no ads in kids profiles or preschool, at least at launch. And so this is going to be done very thoughtfully and looking at the content and also making sure that the advertiser is consistent with the content.”

It’s an interesting detail as subscribers for Disney+ continue to grow and also after Disney+ quite recently added its first ever R-rated movies to the service, something that some parental watchdog groups criticized. And it stands in contrast to other services like HBO Max, which do include ads and commercial breaks for kids and preschool profiles. But it also reflects a policy Disney still maintains with their ads for Disney Channel, in which only in-house commercials for Disney-owned content are shown on the channel.

CEO Bob Chapek also addressed how the ad-supported pricing model and ability for ads is different from what is currently possible on Hulu, saying that it’s an entirely different technology platform that will allow them to “evolve over time.”

Disney+’s ad-supported streaming tier will launch Dec. 8 at $7.99 per month, the same price that Disney+ customers are already paying now. In turn, the cost of the premium ad-free tier is rising $3 to $10.99 per month. Hulu is also raising prices with its ad-supported tier increasing $1 to $7.99 per month and its ad-free tier hiking costs by $2 to $14.99 per month. This way, ad-free Disney+ subscribers can’t cancel for a cheaper alternative.

This marks the most significant Disney+ price increase since it launched in November 2019. The company previously raised the streamer’s prices by $1 in March 2021. However, the Disney Bundle — which includes ad-free tiers of Disney+ and Hulu as well as ESPN+ — will remain $19.99.

Disney+ in the quarter also added 14.4 million subscribers, reaching 152 million globally and 221 million subscribers across all of its platforms.

Comments