Disney Reportedly Exploring Free Product to Boost Disney+ Growth

Disney is considering a free, ad-supported streaming product as it looks for new ways to reach price-conscious viewers and grow its advertising business. Chief Executive Officer Josh D’Amaro confirmed the plan during the company’s quarterly earnings call, though he said Disney has not made a final decision. The possible service could include free ad-supported streaming television channels, often called FAST channels. “We’re exploring a free product for consumers,” D’Amaro said. “We see it as a way to expand our reach to a customer segment that’s more price sensitive.” D’Amaro said the free offering could give Disney more ad inventory to sell. He said Disney’s current ad-supported services are already “fairly well sold,” meaning a new free product could help the company increase advertising revenue instead of merely moving viewers from one paid plan to another. The company also sees the product as a way to bring new viewers into its larger streaming business. D’Amaro said a free service could help drive subscriber growth for Disney+ by putting more consumers into Disney’s pipeline. “Nothing specific to announce today, but definitely something that we’re considering,” D’Amaro said. T...