Disney+ quickly became one of the biggest streamers out there after its debut, but it just accidentally revealed how its new subscription strategy is paying off big time for the conglomerate. In addition to premiering its own original shows and movies, the platform houses the company’s latest theatrical releases, most recently being Deadpool & Wolverine (which is already a streaming hit). However, it seems what is currently capturing most of its subscriber base is the ad-supported “Basic” subscription tier, and the CEO of Disney accidentally revealed the numbers behind that.
Disney CEO Bob Iger was on a Q4 earnings conference call (via IndieWire) when he discussed the current state of their streaming platform, presumably Disney+. While accidentally unmuted, Iger confirmed that their strategy at this moment is to move subscribers towards AVOD, or Advertising-based Video on Demand, since it promotes the most growth for the streamer. This includes the ad-included tiers on Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. In fact, they recently increased the prices of their services in order to entice customers to purchase the ad-supported options.
“It’s not just about raising pricing, it’s about moving consumers to the advertiser-supported side of the streaming platform. So right now in the United States, about 60 percent of all new subs are buying our streaming services’ advertising-supported — or AVOD. I think right now it’s 37 percent of the subs in the U.S. are AVOD subs… and 30 percent globally.”
Later on, Iger admitted that “I don’t know if I was supposed to disclose those AVOD numbers.” Although being accidentally unmuted has happened to the best of us, it seems Iger’s blunder is a bit more significant than most. Of course, there is a chance that he did this on purpose, but it’s probably more believable that the Disney CEO simply made a mundane yet consequential mistake. The information revealed does coincide with the latest increase in pricing for Disney+, which moved the Basic (with Ads) tier from $7.99 to $9.99.
Streaming is Becoming the New Cable
In many ways, streaming is becoming the new cable but in the digital world. Not only due to the increase in prices, but also the quantity of streaming options out there. It seems a new streamer pops up out of nowhere every other week (even Chick-fil-A has a streaming service?!). However, not everything is dark and gloomy, as Disney has partnered with other major companies to provide better deals for customers. Now available to all customers is a combo deal that includes Disney+, Hulu, and Max. This makes some of the biggest streamers out there available for $16.99 a month with ads.
Related
Disney+ Reveals New Footage From Daredevil, Andor, Alien: Earth & More in Stacked 2025 Teaser
Disney+ and Hulu unveiled their ridiculous 2025 lineup, including new entries in the MCU, Star Wars, Alien, and so much more.
Meanwhile, other major streaming giants seem to be content working in their own lane. Netflix and Prime Video keep pumping out content on a regular basis while upping prices and noticeably absent bundle deals. Despite losing money over the past decade, Netlfix remains the biggest platform out there, with Prime Video just behind them. Meanwhile, the rest of the streamers are competing for third place, with Disney+, Max and Apple TV+ in the mix. The main aspect shared among the abundance of options out here is the availability of an ad-supported subscription option, so it seems Disney is not the only one reaping the rewards of raising prices and including advertisements.