According to Disney CFO Christine McCarthy, while speaking at the 9th Annual MoffettNathanson Media and Communications Summit, she revealed the company believes the vast majority of Disney+ subscribers will probably select the cheaper ad-based version of the streaming service set to debut later this year.
“Based on our Hulu experience, we actually have more AVOD [ad-supported video-on-demand] than SVOD [subscription VOD] subscribers,” Disney CFO Christine McCarthy said, speaking Wednesday at the 9th Annual MoffettNathanson Media and Communications Summit. “We expect about the same percentage for both Disney+ and Hulu, just based on the experience curve that we’ve witnessed.”
The company first announced the ad-based version of the software in March. However, with this announcement few details were actually discussed including the pricing of this new plan. The company has only gone on record saying that it will be less expensive than the ad-free version (currently $7.99 a month in the U.S.).
During the MoffettNathanson conference, Rita Ferro, president of Disney Advertising Sales, stated the ad-supported version of the service will have an average of four minutes per hour of the gate, which is less than hulu. This is said to be because of the fact that 65% of viewing on the service is movies, which naturally have fewer ad breaks than TV shows.
Ferro went on to share that the ad-supported service will start with 15- and 30-second spots, but will expand to a “full suite of ad products” over time.
Regarding kid-targeted ads on Disney+, Ferro said, “Yes, we’re going to have advertising… to kids, but it’s going to be controlled advertising with a lot of parental levers to pull. We’re not going to collect data on that.” She added that there won’t be advertising in preschool content on Disney+ at launch.
A report by Variety shared this week that the ad-supported version of the service will not accept alcohol or political advertising at launch, nor will it run ads from rival streamers or entertainment studios.
What are your thoughts on Disney+ offering an ad-based version? Let us know in the comments!
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