Disney Plus Just Proved You Won't Be Able to Escape Ads On Any Tier
Overview & Key Takeaways
According to a recent update to Disney Plus' subscriber agreement, ads may now appear regardless of users' subscription tier.
Disney Plus has updated its subscriber agreement, and it's not looking good for Premium subscribers. The subscriber agreement now states that ads and promotional content can play for subscribers, regardless of their Disney Plus tier.
Disney Plus subscriber agreement allows Disney to play ads before and after programs
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Both Disney Plus and Disney Plus Premium can now feature ads, according to the updated subscriber agreement's Service and Advertising clause 1.1.e. The one bright spot: while the lower ad-supported tier may interrupt shows and films, Disney Plus Premium subscribers can only be subject to ads at the start or end of an episode or movie.
It may be tempting to bypass ads with an ad blocker, but Disney reaffirms that it can suspend or terminate the user's subscription and prevent streaming while the ad blocker is enabled. Disney can even increase an ad blocker user's subscription tier to Disney Plus Premium, as it offers "the most similar features or functionality" to using Disney Plus with an ad blocker, and bill the new price from the date of the move.
At this point, the only accounts that are not subject to ads are Junior Mode accounts. Basic Disney Plus costs $11.99 a month with ads, while Premium costs $18.99 monthly. Premium users pay an additional $7 to avoid ads, but now even that extra money may not be enough to guarantee they are kept away from unwanted ads.
Not so long ago, it was suggested that Disney Plus could make the service free in exchange for users watching ads. However, it seems that Disney is headed in a direction where users will keep paying, the subscription will get increasingly expensive, and they may still end up watching ads anyway.
