Disney+ schedules a maximum of 4 minutes of advertising per hour

Panagiotis Kolokythas

Disney + wants to show as few ads as possible with the new ad-supported subscription, which will be launched in the near future. As Wall Street Journal and Variety report, a maximum of 4 minutes of advertising per hour is planned. On average, Disney+ would show less advertising per hour of streaming than other streaming service competitors in the USA are currently serving viewers with their cheaper advertising subscriptions.

HBO Max and Peacock are reportedly showing between four and five minutes of advertising per hour, and Hulu is showing up to 12 minutes per hour.

No ads for children – no clips about alcohol and parties

In principle, there should be no advertising for children’s content, regardless of whether it is viewed with a regular advertising-financed subscription or with a children’s profile. Disney+ should also have clear rules regarding the content of advertising. Disney+ will not serve any advertising about products containing alcohol or political parties.

In March, Disney + confirmed that a cheaper subscription would also be offered in the future, in which viewing of the content would be interrupted by advertising. With the cheaper, advertising-financed subscription, Disney + wants to increase the number of subscribers. The subscription is expected to be available in the USA from the end of 2022, and in other countries in 2023.

Netflix could follow suit

At the end of April it was announced that Netflix was also considering introducing an advertising-financed subscription. The news broke days after Netflix first reported a drop in subscribers. In the first three months of 2022 alone, Netflix lost about 200,000 subscribers. According to US media reports, Netflix laid off 150 employees this week, which Netflix justified with the “slowing down of growth”. The war in Ukraine, stronger competition and inflation are to blame, among other things.