Disney has just offered Cyber Monday deals for their ad-supported services, including Hulu with Disney+ for $2.99 a month for 12 months. Or you an get just Hulu with ads for .99 a month for 12 months. Is Disney desperate?
What are the deals?
Hulu with ads – .99 a month for 12 months
You must be a new or returning customer who has not been subscribed to Hulu in the past month. So, no canceling and then re-upping for the deal.
“Savings compared to current regular monthly price. Offer for Hulu (With Ads) plan only: $.99/month for 12 months, then auto-renews at $7.99/month or then-current regular monthly price. Ends 11:59 PM PST on 11/28/23. Cancel anytime, effective at the end of your billing period. No refunds or credits for partial months. New and eligible returning subscribers (who have not been Hulu subscribers in the past 1 month) only; Disney+ Basic (With Ads) and Disney Bundle subscribers are not eligible.”
Fine print:
“Not combinable with any free trial of the Hulu (With Ads) plan or any other promotional offers or pricing (including the Disney Bundle); not redeemable via gift card. Any plan switch after redemption of this offer will result in forfeiture of the discount pricing.”
Hulu with Disney Plus with Ads $2.99 a month for 12 months.
“A brand new promo takes the already discounted $10 bundle with both Hulu and Disney Plus and drops the price to a super cheap $3 a month for the ad-supported tiers for the next 12 months. Simply hit the bundle option on the page once you click through to Hulu to add the best of the House of Mouse to your collection.”
Like the .99 offer, you must be a new subscriber or a returning subscriber who has not been subscribed to Hulu in the past month.
The deal is in effect through 11:59 PM PST on 11/28/23
“Hulu (With Ads) plan and Disney+ (With Ads) Add-on only. Ends 11:59 PM PST on 11/28/23. 18+ only. Offer valid for new and eligible returning Hulu subscribers (who have not been Hulu subscribers in the past 1 month); Disney+, ESPN+, and Disney Bundle subscribers are not eligible.”
Disney is clearly pushing their ad-supported bundles. This is likely for a couple of reasons.
- They need to boost subscribers to the services.
Disney has already been losing subscribers to their streaming services. If they sell off Disney+ Hotstar, they will lose a bunch more. They need to get the numbers up quickly, even if they aren’t making as much per customer.
2. They want to use bigger numbers to hit higher advertising profits.
Disney has been doing everything possible to sway people to the ad-supported services. The more people they can get into the “cheaper” plan the larger the audience to sell to advertisers. A larger audience makes them more attractive and allows them to demand higher advertising rates.
If they can get many people to sign up for these deals, they will likely make far more money in the long run, compared to their ad-free tiers that cost customers more. However, I can tell you that as an “ad-free” tier Hulu subscriber, we see commercials more and more often. Sometimes, the number of commercials at once is far worse than with linear TV. I’m sure it’s likely worse with the ad-supported tier.
Just note that customers can expect to get these services cheaper, but they will likely have large numbers of commercials to sit through.
Disney isn’t losing with this deal. They will make their money back in advertising dollars. The same goes for the deal they made with Charter Spectrum. Those customers are getting ad-supported Disney platforms with their cable package. Disney can now count those people as subscribers and sell them to advertisers for higher rates. Disney is desperate for numbers, but they are likely coming out ahead with these deals.
What do you think? Comment and let us know!
Pirates & Princesses (TM) (Stylized as PNP) is an independent, opinionated News and Information site focused on Travel, Entertainment, Fashion, the “Geek Girl” Lifestyle, and more. We focus heavily on Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Universal Orlando Resort, and other themed entertainment and travel destinations. Our news staff includes former theme park and entertainment industry employees, journalists and dedicated pop culture and theme park enthusiasts. Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of this site, our affiliates or our sponsors.