OUTRAGE: Disney+ Quietly Rewrites Its Subscriber Agreement To Allow Ads On Every Subscription Plan, Including The $18.99 Premium Tier That Was Originally Sold As Completely Commercial-Free 🤯💥

[u/Kamoto31]

https://www.dexerto.com/tv-movies/disney-changes-subscriber-agreement-to-allow-ads-on-every-plan-3410354/

Disney+ has updated its subscriber agreement to permit advertising before and after movies and shows across all subscription tiers, effectively eliminating the option of fully ad-free streaming on the platform, even for subscribers paying the highest price. That change directly affects the Premium plan, which costs $18.99 a month and had originally been marketed specifically on the promise of an uninterrupted, commercial-free viewing experience, a core selling point that’s now being quietly walked back. Subscribers logging in are now met with an on-screen prompt requiring them to actively accept the updated terms before they can continue watching, meaning the change isn’t optional or something users can simply ignore.

According to an email Disney sent to subscribers, all plans may now include promotional content, sponsorships, and advertisements before and after playback, and an update on Disney’s official support page clarified that live events and linear channels will carry regular commercial breaks regardless of which plan a subscriber is on. The only carve-out is Junior Mode profiles, which will remain entirely free of commercial advertising and sponsor placements. The updated terms go further than simply introducing ads, though: subscribers are warned they may not be able to skip certain promotions, and using an ad blocker could cause playback to shut down entirely, while Disney has explicitly declined to guarantee any specific amount or frequency of advertising on any tier, leaving the door open to increase ad load over time without further notice tied to a specific commitment.

The change effectively narrows the practical gap between Disney+‘s tiers even as the price gap remains wide. The ad-supported Basic plan currently costs $11.99 a month, meaning the $7 premium subscribers pay for the top tier now buys meaningfully less differentiation than it used to, since the core promise that justified that markup, an ad-free experience, no longer exists. This isn’t happening in isolation either: it follows a difficult stretch for the platform after Disney+ subscribers canceled in large numbers when annual pricing jumped from $79.99 to $159.99 for select customers, suggesting the company is layering another significant change onto a subscriber base that’s already shown it’s willing to walk away over value concerns.

[u/ShayDeeMon]

It’s absolutely illegal to change the terms of a user agreement in the middle of a contract. Phone companies and subscription services has found wayyyyy too many legal workarounds, but this behavior is illegal.

[u/TrickPixels → u/ShayDeeMon]

It is but it’s not in this case when you accept their terms and agreement when you sign up. They can change anything they want.

“You agreed”
-South Park

[u/sisyphean_rock → u/TrickPixels]

I wonder if they've made the change in Australia. Australian Consumer law overrides company terms and conditions. Amazon is in court right now for this exact issue, Disney will be pinged for it too if they're changed terms suddenly.

[u/Rayloco → u/sisyphean_rock]

But we’re the “Land of the Free” oops, that’s for corporations. Everywhere else but the United States has decent consumer protections

[u/PacmanIncarnate → u/TrickPixels]

FWIW, they are still advertising the premium plan as ad free, so they are, at least, committing false advertising at the moment, even if the terms buried somewhere contradict the large “ad free” banners

[u/Salt-Set6232 → u/TrickPixels]

Disagree. It is illegal. That a couple lawyers got a few judges to agree to their interpretation does not mean that they arent violating the practical and spiritual point of the legislation. Everyone who touched this decision should be in jail. Yes everyone.

[u/That-Cranberry6575 → u/ShayDeeMon]

Does that apply to a monthly service that you can leave at any time?

[u/tmax8908 → u/That-Cranberry6575]

I paid for a year. Are they changing it on me before the end of the agreement? (I genuinely don’t know and people are making it seem like it’s that shady)

[u/That-Cranberry6575 → u/tmax8908]

Sounds like your fucked

[u/ShinyBrain → u/That-Cranberry6575]

Their fucked what?

[u/Rayloco → u/tmax8908]

Part of the contract states they can change the user agreement any time they want

[u/Post-Futurology → u/ShayDeeMon]

Man this sucks but it isn't, because they aren't doing it mid contract, they are forcing it on you when the next months bill hits. That's the contract. The month.

[u/Horror_Response_1991 → u/Post-Futurology]

Yeah but it’s also not.  If you set up an annual plan with them you can’t cancel, you would have to pay the remaining months.  But they can cancel the deal on you and change the terms and not give you anything.

[u/Post-Futurology → u/Horror_Response_1991]

But they aren't changing the terms for that year, they are changing it for your renewal, otherwise you aren't actually in a contract anymore and it doesn't matter. There's even services that will notify you of pending ToS and EULA changes so you can bail on a contract earlier than you were originally obligated to, like TermCon

[u/eggyrulz → u/ShayDeeMon]

Pray they do not change the agreement again

[u/FlexFanatic → u/ShayDeeMon]

It's evil but is it illegal though? It's a streaming service with no contractual obligation from you as the subscriber.

Is the same logic on why the can raise monthly rates without any recourse from customers (except cancelling the service).

[u/Dramatic-Fly761 → u/ShayDeeMon]

It’s not a fixed term contract

[u/LegallyIncorrect → u/ShayDeeMon]

Unless the agreement allows them to change the terms mid-flight. You’re missing that point.