Disney reveals its Disney+ ad plans ahead of upfront
Disney plans to keep Disney+ ad load to four minutes per hour or less, and will exclude alcohol and political commercials.
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Disney has unveiled part of its advertising strategy for its Disney+ service ahead of its highly anticipated upfront today. The company confirmed to Ad Age that it planned to limit its ad breaks to just four minutes per hour—nearly half that of Disney-owned platform Hulu. Disney additionally confirmed that it would limit the content of its initial slate of advertisers to exclude alcohol or political marketing as well as content from rival platforms or entertainment studios.
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In early March, Disney+ announced plans to debut a lower-cost ad-supported subscription in late 2022. The streamer will join its competitors, including HBO Max, Paramount+ and Peacock, in offering an ad-supported tier, but promises fewer ads per hour.
Additionally, Disney+ announced that it would withhold ads from its preschool-aged audience. For all profiles marked for its youngest viewers, the streamer will withhold all ads no matter the content being played. Rita Ferro, Disney’s president of ad sales and partnerships, told The Wall Street Journal that it would never “collect data on individual kids to target them.”
Disney’s upfront will take place at Basketball City at Pier 36 in Manhattan later this afternoon. More news about Disney’s ad plans for its suite of streaming services, as well as its family of linear brands, is set to be revealed during the presentation.
