Disney+ first launched its ad-supported tier in 2022 in America. Now, the entertainment empire has brought this subscription plan to UK shores.

Besides the introduction of ‘Standard with Ads’, Disney+ has also split its ad-free tiers into ‘Standard’ and ‘Premium’, with the latter being the only way to access 4K content.

If you want to know how this will impact you, we have everything you need to know. You can also check out the best shows and movies available on Disney+ right now.

When is the Disney+ ad-supported tier launching?

The new ad-supported tier is out now in the UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

Following the launch, Disney has also split its ad-free tier into two. The three tiers on offer now are Standard with Ads, Standard and Premium.

How much does the Disney+ ad-supported tier cost?

Here are the current costs of Disney+ in America:

Disney+ ad-free monthly subscription: $13.99 per month

Disney+ ad-free annual subscription: $139.99 per year 

Disney+ ad-supported monthly subscription: $7.99 per month

If you’re in the UK, then here are the current costs for Disney+:

Disney+ Standard with Ads: £4.99 per month

Disney+ Standard: £7.99 per month

Disney+ Premium: £10.99 per month

Disney+ Standard with Ads and Standard have content capped at 1080p, offer two concurrent streams and audio only in 5.1 and Stereo formats. Disney+ Premium includes 4K UHD and HDR content, four concurrent streams and Dolby Atmos support.

All these features are currently available on the ad-free plan, so anyone on this will have to pay more for the best quality content.

No downloads are available on the ad-supported tier, whilst the ad-free plans offer up to 10 downloads. All tiers include the full Disney+ library.

What do the ads on Disney+ look like?

Disney has confirmed that it will have an average four minutes of advertising per hour – an amount that undercuts traditional broadcast TV, as well as other streaming platform rivals such as Peacock and Max.

The platform will not run any ads related to politics or alcohol, nor will it accept advertising from any other rival studios.

Junior profiles will not have any adverts at all and content designed for audiences of this age are reviewed accordingly. Some content for pre-school ages (0-6+) will also remain ad-free.

At a media briefing, Deborah Armstrong, Country Manager UK & I, GM Media Networks and Advertising EMEA, confirmed to Tech Advisor that mid-roll ads have been selectively placed across all content, rather than added in at random.

If you hover over the progress bar for a video, you’ll be able to see where the ads are placed. When a break happens, the timer that comes up in the top-right hand side is for the whole break rather than an individual ad.

For movies, you’ll only get pre-roll ads and no mid-roll ones, so the watching experience will be uninterrupted. Luke Bradley Jones, General Manager of Disney+ EMEA, said that this is because “…we [Disney+] really believe that this is important to the premium experience of the movies that we have on the service.”

The ads are tailored to the content you’re watching, rather than your individual profile demographic. Some of the companies advertising from launch in the UK include Charlotte Tilbury, Nissan, John Lewis, Uber and Pandora.

You can also read up on Amazon Prime Video’s ad-supported tier.

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