Disney+ has confirmed it has no plans to offer a cheaper, ad-supported version of its streaming service.
The ongoing growth of the streaming giant has led some analysts to suggest an ad-supported version would be coming to appease price-conscious consumers and counteract price hikes. However, Disney has said that it’s happy with its subscriber model and doesn’t have any plans to offer a free or cheaper tier of Disney+ soon.
When asked about the possibility, Disney CEO Bob Chapek, said: “We’re always re-evaluating how we go to market across the world, but we’ve got no such plans now to do that. We’re happy with the models that we’ve got right now. We won’t limit ourselves and say no to anything. But right now, we have no such plans for that.”
With the streaming wars heating up and more and more players entering the field, a number are offering ad-supported versions at a reduced cost to help more and more consumers sign up. Hulu and HBO Max are two of the biggest examples, but it appears as though Disney does not see it necessary for its own streaming service.
Earlier in the year, Disney+ prices were raised by a dollar in the United States to $7.99, but that had little impact on the number of paid subscribers, which now stands at more than 100 million. The company said it hopes to double that by 2024, meaning it could overtake Netflix and become the world’s biggest streaming platform.
By comparison, Apple has not offered any details on the number of subscribers, though as the company sets to transition away from its free trial model towards paying customers, we might see just how popular the service is.
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