Everything you need to know

On December 8, Disney+ finally launched its ad tier. So now you can save a few kroner and get Disney+ with ads. But it’s not as simple as just saving a few dollars a month with this plan. There are some other caveats here, as there were with Netflix. So let’s go over everything you need to know about Disney+ with ads.

How much does it cost?

Along with this launch of the ad-supported tier, Disney+ is also increasing the price of its ad-free plan. So you can get Basic with Ads for $7.99 per month, or get it ad-free for $10.99 per month.

For some, saving $3 per month and seeing a few ads may be worth the price. Considering there are so many streaming services on the market today, it’s definitely nice to save money anywhere.

What about the bundles? Well, with the addition of this new ad-supported plan, there are quite a few options for the package now. Here’s how they line up.

• Duo Basic – Disney+ and Hulu with ads for $9.99 per month
• Trio Basic – Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+ with ads for $12.99 per month
• Trio Premium – Hulu and Disney+ are ad-free, ESPN+ with ads for $19.99 per month.

It’s important to remember that ESPN+ will always be ad-supported since a large portion of their library is live sports.

How many ads will Disney+ show with each movie or episode?

So how many ads will you see when you watch Disney+ now? According to the company, when it made its Upfront presentation back in May, Disney said it would limit ads to four minutes per hour on Disney+ Basic with Ads. It’s actually not bad. Typical programs and films on regular TV have an average of 15-20 minutes of adverts per hour.

If you watch children’s programs or use a children’s profile, you will not see ads. This is probably done so that children don’t see ads that they probably shouldn’t.

Now while ads start at four minutes per hour of programming, that doesn’t mean it won’t expand. When Hulu first launched, the ads were quite short, now we see 3-5 ad breaks in the content.

Will all content be available at the ad-supported tier?

Everything on Disney+ will be available at launch. Unlike Netflix, which has licensing agreements with various studios, Disney owns all the content on Disney+. So that it can stream anything it wants on its platform with and without ads.

It’s different than with Netflix because studios will license content for SVOD or AVOD, and usually not both. Netflix usually licenses for SVOD, since it just added ads this year. So it has had to rework some deals to get AVOD available on the ad schedule. The reason for this is that the studios want a cut of the advertising money from users who watch the content, with ads.

Can you skip or fast forward through ads?

This probably won’t come as a surprise, but no, you can’t skip or fast-forward through the ads. This is so that Disney+ can maximize its revenue through advertisements. If it allowed users to skip the ads, the ads would not be seen. Which means that advertisers will not spend money on the platform, thus making this tier dead.

Disney gives users a cut of the revenue here, saving them a few dollars each month. Sure it’s only $3 per month, but it adds up to over $36 per year. And with the rising costs of streaming services, it’s not so bad.

Is 4K HDR still available with ads?

Unlike some other services, Disney+ doesn’t limit 4K HDR to certain plans. Every plan will have 4K HDR, including the Basic with Ads plan. But the important thing to remember here is that not everything is available in 4K HDR. Most of the newer content will be in 4K HDR, and some major movies have been remastered to 4K HDR, but there will be plenty of shows that aren’t in 4K HDR.

Can you download content to watch offline?

Unfortunately, the ability to download content for offline viewing is limited to the ad-free plans. This is the case with most streaming services. Partly because you can’t download ads to watch offline, so there would be a way to get around watching ads. But the other part is that it’s a feature that helps differentiate the SVOD and AVOD plans.

Will these ads be targeted?

While Disney hasn’t released any information about how it’s going to customize the ad experience, you can rest assured that those ads will be targeted. Businesses have found that targeted advertising pays more, and that’s because people are more likely to interact with those ads. And thus make it worthwhile for an advertiser to advertise on a platform.

It should hopefully be better than the ads we see on Hulu, which are very rarely relevant to the user.

Which countries have Disney+ Basic with ads?

At launch, on December 8, only the US will have the Disney+ Basic with Ads plan. That will change, however, as Disney says it will roll out to other countries around the world starting in 2023.

Should I sign up for Disney+ Basic with ads?

So the big question is, should you sign up for Disney+ Basic with ads or not? And well, if you don’t mind a few short ad breaks, it’s worth saving a few bucks per month. Four minutes of ads per hour isn’t bad at all. And gives you a chance to use the bathroom, or get some snacks, while you watch the Santas.