Report: Disney+ could get a cheaper, ad-supported tier in the future

What you need to know

Disney+ could be considering a cheaper subscription but with ads thrown in.
Disney+ currently costs $7.99 per month.
A cheaper Disney+ tier could cost $4.99 per month.

Less money, but more ads.

Disney could be getting ready to offer people a cheaper way to get into its Disney+ streaming service, but there’s a catch. According to a new report, Disney+ could get a tier that will cost less but will also force people to watch ads.

Disney currently charges people $7.99 per month to watch the rather excellent content on offer via Disney+. And while that’s still considerably cheaper than the likes of Netflix, it’s still more costly than some other options. Now, a new report by The Information suggests that there could be scope for a tier sitting at the $4.99 per month price point. Although people will have to watch ads to get that lower price.

Disney’s service now costs $8 a month. Rivals such as Discovery+ and Paramount+ offer tiers with ads that each cost $4.99. Disney’s Hulu service has an ad-supported tier, which costs only $6.99 per month. By launching an ad-supported tier for Disney+, the company could attract a wider group of subscribers. That would help it increase revenue to offset fast-rising programming costs for its service.

Those who pay for Apple TV+ already pay $4.99 per month, although there are no ads in sight. The catalogs of content offered by Disney+ and Apple TV+ do differ greatly however, something that many have been able to use as justification for the higher price of the former.

Disney+ has already seen a price bump and it’s possible it could see another alongside the arrival of a new, lower-priced tier as a way to differentiate offerings. Services like Hulu and Peacock already offer a similar free + paid-for hybrid system and the recently announced ITVX is set to go the same route, too.