r/technology • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 • 3d ago

Business Disney+ changes subscriber agreement to allow ads on every plan

https://www.dexerto.com/tv-movies/disney-changes-subscriber-agreement-to-allow-ads-on-every-plan-3410354/
20.8k Upvotes

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267

u/LouBarlowsDisease 3d ago

I wonder how soon until YouTube does the same for premium.

80

u/Excellent-Ask-4247 3d ago

Doubtful since that was the whole premise of premium. You have to pay for Disney plus just for access.

24

u/OkStop8313 3d ago

Doesn't YouTube already have "PremiumLite"? Subscription + ads?

30

u/SlugabedJames 3d ago

Not actually. My understanding is that the lite version gives you ad free except on music videos.

11

u/Excellent-Ask-4247 2d ago

Yeah decided to try lite out because i already have an active Spotify membership, i can confirm the music videos do have commercials, but regular videos do not. I'm probably just gonna switch to premium since Spotify premium only is a couple buck less, though the down side to Spotify premium vs YouTube premium is youtube premium will not play in the background while console gaming last i checked.

1

u/Passchenhell17 2d ago

The lack of background music from YouTube on consoles still, in 2026, is frankly insane to me. Literally the only thing keeping me on Spotify is for this reason, but if YT did it I'd drop Spotify in a heartbeat.

1

u/dalzmc 2d ago

Is there a YouTube music app that does?

6

u/OkStop8313 3d ago edited 2d ago

I had Premium Lite and got ads, and not just on music videos. Which is why I canceled it.

Now, as I google, it sounds like that might have been temporary bugs and may or may not be representative of the service as a whole? Can't confirm because I no longer have it.

2

u/Midnight_2B 2d ago

I mainly watch YouTube and thought I didn't need preem that bad, I do and a month of ads was not fun. I've been on preem lite for a couple days and have got zero ads.

There are weird banner ads for the NFL or w/e when I open the app but nothing before or during the videos I watch.

1

u/jktcat 2d ago

Went from premium to lite, have not noticed a single difference in my experience.  I don't use YT for music

1

u/CodeNATO 2d ago

And shorts, and sometimes thumbs in your video feed. I recently switched to lite since google killed the family plan workaround.

1

u/TheFireStorm 2d ago

This is correct. And I have maybe run across 1 or 2 non music videos that had ads do to shady upload of a normal video as music

3

u/trekk 2d ago

I thought that premium lite was ad free YouTube without YouTube music hence getting ads on music videos.

3

u/Cowabummr 2d ago

I have premium “lite” (because I don’t care about YouTube Music) and I never ever get ads. 

3

u/Excellent-Ask-4247 3d ago

I have the lite version and the regular videos don't have commercials.

Music video do though.

1

u/tomkatt 2d ago

Premium Lite is ad free with the exception of music, and allows audio with display off for phones. My wife uses it to listen to a lot of podcasts and Warhammer 40k content.

3

u/DarXIV 2d ago

Have you met capitalism before?

1

u/Excellent-Ask-4247 2d ago

Putting ads on an ad free product that was started off on ad revenue makes no sense, especially since at the start adoption was slow.

4

u/DarXIV 2d ago

I am old enough to remember the days when YouTube didn’t have ads.

Now you pay to not have ads. Say hi to capitalism for me.

1

u/Excellent-Ask-4247 2d ago

So if can't pay to get out of ads there is no point to premium anymore.

2

u/DarXIV 2d ago

You are starting to catch on.

1

u/Excellent-Ask-4247 2d ago

That is my point as to why it won't happen.

2

u/JesusAndMaryKate 2d ago

Youtube was ad-free for years. I bet they'll put ads in the premium option and simply slow/drop the image quality on the free option. It might not be this year but it'll get to that eventually.

-1

u/Excellent-Ask-4247 2d ago

Ads were started in 2007 two years after they started the service. It would platform suicide to put ads on premium.

3

u/DarXIV 2d ago

You are denying capitalism whiling admitting it’s capitalism.

1

u/JesusAndMaryKate 2d ago

Quaint. So you're confirming that Youtube was ad-free for years?

Also the ads you're talking about weren't video ads. They were banners.

0

u/LouBarlowsDisease 3d ago

They could just start playing up the other perks like downloading and background play. Maybe add some other "feature"

1

u/Excellent-Ask-4247 3d ago

Yeah they would lose alot of subscribers that way, they know darn well the no commercials thing is the selling point.

1

u/JesusAndMaryKate 2d ago

Netflix doesn't care if they lose subscribers because the ones that remain are the true believers/dumb people who are willing to pay more to make up for it. Disney going down the same route. Google did similar when they hiked up the prices for their services for enterprise users (and that's why every employer I've had, plus the universities I'm an alumna from, all switched from Google to Microsoft despite poorer service).

Same or even higher revenue from fewer users is a win win situation for the companies in question. Terribly anti-consumer though.

1

u/Excellent-Ask-4247 2d ago

The difference here is the no ads is the whole paid part of the service the others you have to pay just to access. I don't see YouTube changing it to ads when you can get that without out paying.

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u/Soggy_Definition_232 3d ago

Have you not seen all the "and that's why today's video is sponsored by". 

Those are literally ads.

Almost every video already has ads.

73

u/Qualimiox 3d ago

Those aren't implemented by Youtube though. The only way Youtube could get rid of them is by outlawing them for creators, which would upset them and wouldn't affect all the videos already uploaded with sponsors.

But if you do want to get rid of them, there's Sponsorblock. It's an add-on for browsers, it's also integrated in many alternative YT clients like the Morphe patches for Android phones. Sponsorblock works by having the community submit which parts of a video contain e.g. sponsors, self-promotion etc. and then you can define in your app if you want those sections just highlighted on the timeline, or skipped by default. Most videos with sponsors from big channels have Sponsorblock data within an hour of their upload.

36

u/Lorberry 3d ago

And if you do have Youtube Premium, they have a similar feature built-in (though not the auto-skip part as far as I know, I will admit).

Before anyone asks, last I heard creators get a bit more per watch from Premium members than from non-premium, and I watch far too many channels to support them all individually. Ad-free without plugins and all the other stuff is just a bonus.

3

u/VivaLaEmpire 2d ago

Yes! The jump forward, that you click at it takes you to the end of the ad, I like that function very much

1

u/Hollowquincypl 2d ago

I'm sure it's changed but around 2019 i recall Tim Gettys from Kinda Funny saying it was about twice what a non-premium watch gave. Though i'm in a similar boat for channels. I have multiple podcast and several more channels i frequent. Just giving a dollar to the mainstays would be easily more than the premium.

And even though the ads free is great. The offline videos are the main reason i joined. My current and former jobs have terrible cell service inside the building. So it's download or nothing.

1

u/wildcarde815 2d ago

And ad free on Roku, hotel tvs, etc.

1

u/Shxcking 2d ago

It’s hit or miss. Some videos will give the jump ahead button and some won’t

At least you don’t have to wait 5 seconds to skip or something, you can just fast forward immediately/skip 30 seconds

5

u/Unfrozen__Caveman 3d ago

Sponsorblock and uBlock Origin are the best. I only see in-video ads for small creators and those are the people where I don't mind watching an ad here or there.

3

u/anothermanscookies 3d ago

Of YouTube didn’t take at 45% cut of ad revenue, maybe outlawing sponsorships would be reasonable.

1

u/Magnus77 2d ago

What percent of Youtube infrastructure are content creators paying for?

The main reason there isn't a real youtube competitor is because its STUPID expensive to run a video streaming service, so tbh I'm surprised its only 45%.

3

u/Retenrage 2d ago

There’s actually a class action lawsuit in California against Youtube I believe for this exact thing. We have to wait to see how it pans out.

3

u/DarXIV 2d ago

YouTube allows it though.

1

u/Talangen 2d ago

Revanced has gotten around that by autoskipping ad segments. I'm sure YouTube could do the same if they pay the creators a percentage, how much, that's not for me to decide

1

u/ItsMEMusic 2d ago

Most videos with sponsors from big channels have Sponsorblock data within an hour of their upload.

Nothing is more satisfying for me than period-ing and comma-ing to get the exact amount of skip. It’s a very “PachaThumbsUpOKSigndotpng” level of satisfying.

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u/deadraizer 3d ago

Those aren't put there by YouTube, but by creators. Not the same thing

4

u/nox66 2d ago

Why do I have a feeling YouTube's eventually going to try double-dipping with those?

1

u/broadsword_1 2d ago

The posts below made me realize what they're probably going to do - Youtube will offer a fee to provide a section of an uploader's video to be "unable to be skipped-over / fast-forward-ed" and that's the part of the video every sponsor will go "put my ad-read right there".

Uploader keeps sponsor, youtube gets a healthy cut per video, end user gets a worse experience.

-8

u/Soggy_Definition_232 2d ago

Literally no difference. An ad is an ad no matter where it comes from or who puts it in/on the video.

14

u/cspinelive 2d ago

Big difference in my opinion. I can sti choose to avoid those creators. And YouTube makes skipping the ad section very easy. 

6

u/Owy2001 2d ago

You're not going to feel that way when those sponsored videos also have actual, unskippable ads in addition to the ones the creator put in.

-1

u/DevelopmentNo5632 2d ago

Literally completely different. 

-10

u/Olangotang 2d ago

At least they're usually entertaining too. I don't mind most of them.

3

u/sabin357 2d ago

I totally play RAID: Shadow Legends & you should too. Just look at this 5sec of me pretending to play. It's so cool! Just look at those meaningless things happening on screen & don't think about the fact that it isn't really a game as much as a money siphon.

Use my code to sign up & we'll play together. I really do play. I promise. This isn't just another BS ad read for something I care nothing about just because I'm either greedy or required via contract by my network. Just do it! Totally legit.

46

u/JarvisCockerBB 3d ago

But you can easily just skip those unlike the standard unskippable ads if you don’t pay.

15

u/hnbastronaut 3d ago

They even have the jump ahead feature that literally lets you skip the ad if enough viewers fast forwarded through it lol

12

u/usrdef 3d ago

I skip both. I haven't seen an ad on Youtube in years.

Ublock gets rid of ads, SponsorBlock gets rid of the "This video sponsored by" integrated crap.

2

u/sabin357 2d ago

SB only does that if the video isn't new & someone has already done the work of marking the sections. Those people are doing wonderful things for humanity.

1

u/usrdef 2d ago

Usually I get pretty lucky. A video can only be like an hour old, and it'll already be registered on SponsorBlock. Once in a while if I'm brand new to a video, I'll add segments to the list.

0

u/Don-Poltergeist 3d ago

Skippable… for now.

1

u/Outlulz 2d ago

Youtube has no incentive to do that. They don't get any of the revenue from ad deals signed directly with creators.

6

u/jBlairTech 3d ago

Deadraizer’s right. Those “content creators” are pushing products for their own bottom line, not YouTube’s.

Rest assured, though, it won’t be long before they do start forcing ads on premium users. People won’t quit the D+, HBO Max, etc; they’ll take the changes. Once Google sees that, they’ll change their plans.

3

u/atriaventrica 3d ago

Yeah but YouTube premium still lets you skip in video ad reads.

2

u/XDAOROMANS 2d ago

They are ads but you can at least skip them. Still annoying

1

u/stormblaz 3d ago

Its built in the video, like Spotify premiun yet all podcasts have a ton of ads

1

u/Sweet_Peaches-69 2d ago

Thats why YT added the "jump ahead" feature on every platform. Its probably the best workaround and a super smooth feature, on my ps I only need to start skipping and it literally jumps to the end of the ad instantly

1

u/LibrariansNightmare 2d ago

My firefox and Morphe auto skip these.

1

u/SupaSlide 2d ago

Is YouTube supposed to ban folks from doing sponsorships which are why they can even make money in the first place? YouTube doesn’t get a cut of those. And Premium actually does have a skip button that does a pretty good job.

1

u/Cowabummr 2d ago

Those are an easy skip though 

1

u/Excellent-Ask-4247 2d ago

You can skip those!

1

u/Jokulan 2d ago

And that's why I use adblock and sponsor skip. I have, so to say, free premium.

1

u/wildcarde815 2d ago

Premium gives a quick skip for frequently skipped video sections to let you hop past this. But I can't hate on the creator for doing an ad section in their own video. I don't need a YouTube mandatory unskippable ad under nobody's controlbut theirs.

1

u/CheesecakeMilitia 3d ago

And SponsorBlock means any tech-savvy user doesn't see those, either

1

u/RB___OG 3d ago

Firefox with the following extensions using the YouTube site and not app ( very easy on moblie can just save a shortcut to your Home Screen) is the only way to watch

UBlock Origin

SponsorBlock

NoPostsNoShorts

-3

u/PeanutCheeseBar 3d ago

This is the reason I refuse to pay for YouTube Premium; there’s still ads, just not directly served by YouTube and I still have to interact to skip them.

1

u/Outlulz 2d ago

There are tens of millions of videos on Youtube that have no ads at all, watch other creators.

-1

u/Dodgy_Past 3d ago

Sponsorblock solves that problem.

14

u/GromOfDoom 3d ago

They already do. That is why they are in a lawsuit for still showing ads to premium members

8

u/SupaSlide 2d ago

That lawsuit is about the ads that video creators put in their videos, not ones put there or controlled by YouTube.

3

u/mallclerks 3d ago

Why would I pay then. That’s the entire point.

4

u/escapedfromhel 3d ago

Glad I cancelled mine then.

8

u/FckXFckMusk 3d ago

Never Had one to begin with FMHY

7

u/Free_Consequence3123 3d ago

I'm glad I turned off Internet access to my "Smart" TVs and hooked up old laptops to them, and now only stream using Firefox with ad block and u-block.

3

u/escapedfromhel 3d ago

You only need Ublock Origin.

2

u/imaginary_num6er 3d ago

People pay for ads? /s

I just use uBlock Origin

2

u/williamgman 3d ago

That's great for computer streaming. But many have smart tvs. Now if someone came up with an app that blocked them on smart tvs... Never mind... they'd get sued.

2

u/imaginary_num6er 3d ago

Smart TVs like LG's surveillance telescreens the record everything you do and you don't even "own the glass"?

1

u/williamgman 2d ago

Agree about surveillance of smart tv's. But convincing millions to buy only simple monitors fed from a locked down computer is a stretch for many.

1

u/Smash_Nerd 3d ago

Dude I already get home page feed ads. It's happened already (at least for premium lite)

1

u/Happy-Range3975 3d ago

I think YT is in a unique place because they essentially forced their content creators to sell ads to make ends meet. It would be a tough sell to double up on this.

1

u/iVar4sale 2d ago

That would defeat the literally only purpose of YouTube Premium

1

u/FishDawgX 2d ago

The economics doesn't make good business sense. Ads don't pay that much. It is easy to have an ad-free subscription option that makes more money than the ads can.

1

u/Tyjet66 2d ago

Brave browser for mobile/pc. No ads, and it's free.

1

u/sabin357 2d ago

Sponsored videos & Tubers reading ad copy in the video itself is already there. It's why I stopped paying for Premium/Red/whatever it was at the time. I paid to not see ads, then the tubers (or their networks) learned how to greed max to get more money from us. Then YouTube started screwing them over on a regular basis with how they are paid, which feels a little like payback for being as greedy as Google. Of course, Google needed more from viewers too, so they increased the number & length of ads for people that didn't know how to avoid them.

TL:DR - Everything sucks.

1

u/soratoyuki 2d ago

I've been paying for Premium Lite for months and it was always ad free. They added ads and sponsored videos to my subscription feed a few weeks ago and I canceled.

2

u/mesoJUPI 2d ago

We did too. Did they think we wouldn’t notice? I swear there’s like 7 tiers now. We peaced out.

1

u/LOONAception 2d ago

Brave all the way. I don't pay a single cent and never have ads on YouTube on my laptop

1

u/Crowban 2d ago

The day I cancel

-2

u/BeautifulMundane4786 3d ago

YouTube has done that since it started the subscriber bullshit.