Recently Disney updated the subscription agreement for Disney+, and many users are not happy; however, the change is not what many assume.
"We've clarified that all Service Plans may include: (i) promotional content, (ii) sponsorships, and (iii) advertisements before/after playback of Content and in channels, live/as-live, special events, and any third-party services content."
This update clearly states that Disney has the right to include promotional content and ads before and after content, as well as during live events, but it does not mean Disney is adding traditional advertising to its ad-free plans.
What the Change Really Means:
In the current version of Disney+, promotional content plays before and after movies. These advertisements let viewers know about seasonal specials currently available on Disney+ or promote other Disney movies available on the service. While these ads can be skipped instantly, there is no denying they are still advertisements. The change to the subscription agreement simply protects Disney if someone were to challenge them for seeing an ad while paying for an ad-free plan.
The other part of this change stems from the full Hulu merger scheduled for the near future. While many Hulu shows and movies have already made the jump, some remain absent from Disney+, and Live TV has yet to be transferred over. Because Live TV is live, blocking advertisements on these channels is impossible. This policy is already clearly stated in the Hulu subscription agreement and needed to be reflected on Disney+.
Additionally, not all Hulu content is ad-free—even for subscribers paying for the ad-free add-on. This is due to licensing agreements with content providers, which neither Hulu nor Disney can control (outside of dropping the show or movie from their service). This exception was already outlined in the Hulu agreement and needed to be clearly spelled out in the Disney+ agreement as well.
Disney Has Not Announced Plans to Include Full Advertisements:
With all of this being said, Disney has not announced plans to use this updated agreement in any way beyond what it is already doing: advertising additional Disney+ content within Disney+ while giving viewers the option to skip past it. This is the same practice Disney has always used with home media releases on VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray, though on VHS users had to physically fast-forward instead of simply pressing a skip button.
If anything changes, we will revise this article, but this is the current state of Disney+ following the subscription agreement update, and how Hulu itself has operated for years. You can learn more about this via their Official Website.
We have also reached out to The Walt Disney Company for additional statements.
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