Disney+ To Launch Ad-Supported Tier In Australia & New Zealand – What’s On Disney Plus

It’s been many years since Disney+ introduced an ad-supported tier in the United States, before slowly rolling it out in selected countries around the world, including in the UK.  That international rollout continues as Disney has announced that in the coming months, an ad-supported tier will also be introduced in Australia and New Zealand.

The addition of an ad-supported tier will offer, according to Disney, more choice, flexibility and value when selecting a plan to suit their streaming needs. 

The new “Standard with Ads†plan will be available at an attractive price point alongside the current Standard and Premium plans.   Unfortunately, Disney hasn’t announced the timing for the Standard with Ads tier launch, nor its price.

The new tier will bring Disney+ in Australia in line with how the tiers work in other countries, such as the UK, reducing the quality of the video to HD and restricting how many devices can be used at any one time.

Regardless of what tier a subscriber gets, they will all get access to all of Disney’s content from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, Hulu and ESPN, including blockbuster movies, brand-new Original series and live sports.

The Walt Disney Company Australia and New Zealand Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Kylie Watson-Wheeler, said in a statement regarding the new tier:

“We’re excited to soon be launching an ad-supported Disney+ offering in Australia and New Zealand. This new plan will provide more choice, flexibility and value to subscribers. Also, for the first time, advertisers and partners will have the opportunity to connect with our general entertainment audiences who choose ads as part of the world-class films and TV series they enjoy from us.â€

According to Disney, this new ad-supported tier will pair their most beloved stories, characters and brands with advanced proprietary advertising technology and audience-based capabilities. The combination delivers sophisticated, scalable advertising for both consumers and advertisers.  It should also be noted that live coverage, such as sports, will still include some advertising, regardless of the tier subscribed to. 

The local Disney Advertising team exclusively supports advertising sales with ad packages in Australia and New Zealand for Disney+ and ESPN.

Roger’s Take: It’s great that the ad-supported tier is set to be launched in Australia and New Zealand soon.  While no-one enjoys watching ads, having a cheaper alternative is going to allow Disney to reach a larger audience with a cheaper alternative, plus we’ve also seen Disney team up with legacy media companies to include the ad-supported tier as part of their subscription.  All of which offers more choice. 

Ultimately, if you want to save some money, you can get it cheaper with ads, or just continue with a more premium experience without ads, but you’ll likely end up paying more for that privilege.  While I have Disney+ without ads, I do have other streaming service subscribers with ads to reduce the monthly cost, so to me, more options are a bonus for everyone. 

Are you looking forward to the launch of the ad-supported tier?  Let me know on social media!