Disney+ is reducing its advertising tier in a new effort to attract new subscribers and is adding a number of value-added perks for users.
The streaming service will offer new and returning subscribers three months of ad-free membership for $1.99 per month, an $18 discount from the standard $9.99 per month rate announced earlier this summer. The offer begins Thursday and runs through Sept. 27.
Disney's price increases will go into effect in October.
The marketing campaign, launched overnight, bills it as a “blockbuster” offering, tied to the release of shows like Wizards Beyond Waverly Place AND Agatha for lifeas well as the Disney+ debut of Inside Out 2. Coincidentally, it also coincides with Disney’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report. Disney had expected modest subscription growth in Q4.
In addition to the steep discount, Disney also announced a number of perks for Disney+ subscribers, something other streaming services have generally avoided doing.
Perks include a contest to win a trip on an upcoming Disney Cruise Line cruise; a bundle of free Marvel digital comics; 15 percent off Disney merchandise from Funko and LoungeFly; a free emoji in Disney Emoji Blitz; an “exclusive in-game cosmetic for the main character's companion, Nix, in the all-new Star Wars Outlaws game”; early access to Agatha for life merchandise at the Disney Store; and tickets for D23 Tune Into the Terror: A Hollywood Halloweena live, subscriber-only event in Los Angeles.
Disney has been aggressive in finding ways to bolster its subscriber base. Internally, it has launched bundles with Hulu and ESPN+ (with Hulu now integrated into the main Disney+ app) and recently launched a bundle with Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max.
And it’s also been experimenting with subscriber perks, including discounted or exclusive merchandise, access to movie tickets, and more. At the D23 conference in Anaheim, Calif., last month, many of the booths had exclusive giveaways or pins for Disney+ subscribers.