How Disney+ will include ads in movies as new ad model comes into focus

Disney+’s impending ad-supported tier has been a hot ticket during this year’s upfront season, even as the company has kept its specific ad products mysterious. During Ad Age’s TV Pivot, Rita Ferro, the company’s president of advertising sales, revealed it will place brands in some of its most coveted content: Disney movies. Previously, Disney had announced the basics: limiting ads to around four minutes per hour with restrictions on marketing that features alcohol or politics as well as studio competitors. Ad Age In-Depth: TV Pivot is today and tomorrow Click here to RSVP to the virtual event “One of the reasons people come to Disney+ is because of the volume of movies,” Ferro told Ad Age. “Movies obviously will have different ad breaks than a serialized show will, and so, that's why we say it's an average of four minutes per hour, because of the volume of movie consumption that happens on the platform.” The platform’s initial ad breaks will begin in the form of 15-and 30-second spots, with in-movie placements integrated into each film’s natural breaks. Initially, Disney+ will be sold as a standalone offering, but over time, the streamer’s products will expand to include Disney’s full range of ad products with the ability to integrate clients across ESPN+, Hulu and Disney+. While it was previously reported that Disney+ will bar marketing for preschool-aged users, Ferro confirmed that advertising will still be allowed for other children, compliant with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act and subject to on-platform parental controls. Disney said it will not collect data for advertisers from its children users. But the family-friendly platform still has a significant portion of adult viewers, which Ferro called “AWOKs,” or “adults without kids,” to appeal to broader markets. Ferro said Disney is taking the ad tier’s launch slow so that “when we're ready to go, it's going to be the experience that everyone expects from Disney, given that it is our namesake on the platform. But also some of our most historic content is on that platform.” While some streamers, such as Peacock, have launched their ad-supported tiers with a small test group of advertisers, Disney+ will not follow suit. Ferro said they want to begin Disney+’s ad tier with a broad range of advertisers to avoid viewer fatigue, a lesson the company learned from recurring ads on Hulu. Sign up for Ad Age’s Media newsletter. Disney+’s ad-supported tier is expected to launch in the fourth quarter of 2022 and will be priced at a premium more than Hulu. Ferro said Hulu remains “our general, entertainment-first, big, bold storytelling platform on serialized content,” which will complement the more niche programming on the Disney+ platform. Hulu remains the company’s guiding star in addressable advertising. Despite the sentiment that streaming is the sole source of income for networks, Ferro said around 40 to 45% of its upfront has gone to addressable advertising, consistent with last year and offset by strong numbers in its linear sports programming. “Demand across linear continues to be strong,” Ferro said. “There are brands who really, that is foundationally important in their marketing mix, to make sure that they're investing and launching brands. There's no better way to launch a brand than broadcast television, and so, we continue to see tremendous demand in that space.”

How Disney+ will include ads in movies as new ad model comes into focus

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