Disney Brings Ads To Streaming Platform As It Surpasses Netflix

Disney is to bring adverts to its Disney+ streaming platform in December, as well as raising prices as the company seeks to recoup its massive investment in the technology.

The entertainment firm said its three streaming platforms together had 221.1 million subscribers as of 2 July, surpassing Netflix.

Netflix has lost subscribers in its past two quarters, and for its most recent quarter said it had 220.67 million subscribers.

Disney counts subscribers for its three platforms separately, even if they pay a single fee for access to Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+.

Adverts

The company said it would raise the US price of ad-free Disney+ subscriptions by $3 (£2) to $10.99 as of 8 December.

At the same time it is to introduce an ad-supported service costing $7.99 a month, the fee it previously charged for ad-free subscriptions.

It said it would introduce ads to services outside the US next year.

Chief executive Bob Chapek told analysts last week the company had a “record upfront advertising commitment” for Disney+.

Strong demand

The company said it added 14.4 million Disney+ accounts for the quarter, far more than analysts had expected, and that demand remained strong.

Like other media companies, firm has invested massively in streaming and said the streaming business lost $1.1bn in the quarter.

Netflix said last month it would work with Microsoft to provide an ad-supported version of its service at a lower subscription price.

The company said it lost 970,000 users in the second quarter, less than the 2 million it expected, and predicted a return to growth in the third quarter.