HBO Max, Paramount+, Peacock and other streaming services offer a cheaper ad-supported plan. Disney+ has no plans to introduce ads, according to CEO Bob Chapek.
Disney+ without ads
Speaking at a Credit Suisse conference, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said that Disney+ is happy with its current subscription model. There are no plans to launch a cheaper ad-supported tier, although he did not rule it out categorically as an option for the future.
- "We’re always reevaluating how we go to market across the world, but we’ve got no such plans now to do that. We’re happy with the models that we’ve got right now," said Bob Chapek. "We won’t limit ourselves and say no to anything. But right now, we have no such plans for that."
Disney+ is chasing Netflix, which remains the leading global streaming service. Netflix has also insisted that it has no plans to introduce ads, saying that being ad-free "remains a deep part of our brand".
Disney+ increased its price in February 2021 where it also added a Star section internationally
Price increase went smoothly
Disney+ launched in November 2019 and is still in a global expansion phase. The company increased its subscription price in February 2021 and reached 100 million subscribers worldwide in March 2021.
The price increase did not prompt customers to cancel their subscription plan in large numbers, according to the CEO.
- "We did launch at a very attractive price-value opening point," said Chapek. "The first price increase that you mentioned in the first 16 months happened recently, and we’ve seen no significantly higher churn because of that."
- Source: Disney via The Verge
