Disney+ now has ads, here’s what brands need to know
PUBLISH DATE: 09 December 2022
Disney+ has launched its much-awaited ad-supported tier today (December 8) just a month after Netflix launched Basic with Ads, and to no surprise at a cheaper rate – $6.99 a month. Without a doubt, streamers are truly embracing ads.
Disney is one of the last major streamers to roll out its ad-funded plan, but the company is no rookie in this space. Disney’s years of experience selling ads on Hulu gives it the edge in terms of expertise and longstanding client relationships which makes it stand out from the pack in what is an increasingly crowded marketplace of streaming services.
Furthermore, Disney+ is the only US streamer that built its own ad server.
It is believed that Disney is asking $50 CPM and a $2m commitment just below the $65 CPM Netflix is charging.
After announcing its streaming inventory would be up for grabs, Disney walked away from 2022 Upfronts with a record-breaking $9bn in advertisers. It was a much-anticipated property.
As far as the users are concerned, the ad load will be low with an average of four minutes per hour below in comparison to its competitor broadcast channels which would typically carry up to six minutes per hour and in line with Netflix. When compared to NCBU-owned Peacock, which runs five minutes of ads for every hour, that’s fewer ads. Moreover, Disney-owned Hulu runs between 09 to 12 ads in an hour.
It’s also brought to notice that Disney will block ads on children’s profiles and will ban ads related to alcohol or politics.
The company’s sales house, Disney Advertising has been tasked with selling inventory to its streamer. Across its network, the sales house offers over 1,800 audience segments built from 100,000 attributes. On the measurement front, Disney offers tracking brand lift, and attribution based on KPIs, social, valuation, and audience verification. It also runs a self-serve platform and has a programmatic marketplace.
Rita Ferro, Disney’s global president of advertising, told today’s Future of TV Advertising Global conference in London that over 100 advertisers and all the major holding companies have bought ads on Disney+ as the streaming service.
At the conference, she also revealed some key information about the work Disney has undertaken to build an advertising sales team, and how it will use first-party data in addition to advertiser data to offer targeted solutions.
Chief executive officer and co-founder of IRIS.TV, Field Garthwaite, says Disney needs to focus on improving ad relevance and brand suitability to meet advertisers’ expectations.
He further said that incorporating video-level content data into its advertising solution can help Disney to increase the value of its new add-supported options while minimizing the risk of bad viewing experience and brand sentiment by avoiding ad placement in unsuitable environments.
Though Disney+ has launched a cheaper tier in the US with advertising, it has still not been confirmed precisely when this will roll out to other markets.
Could the UK be next on their roadmap?
