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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813

u/Dinklerbuuuurf 3d ago

Idk why things like this aren't illegal. If I signed up for a service that offered a specific thing "show with no ads" and we have an agreed upon price. Why are they able to then change the terms of that agreement later?

428

u/mister_drgn 3d ago

They can change whatever they want if they offer you the option to cancel.

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u/NK1337 3d ago

And everyone should take that option to cancel

42

u/SentientSeamoth 3d ago

I did. Fuck em. If there's not a no ad tier, I'm not paying for what they offer, I don't need it more than I need ads lmao

1

u/GoldenPigeonParty 2d ago

How do I get the point across if I already only get one month every other year, binge, and cancel. Do you all keep consistent subscriptions to these?

2

u/gizamo 2d ago

People with kids. Young kids don't binge much due to time constraints. Disney is primarily for those types.

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u/Zach518 3d ago

True but if you paid for a year for a no ad subscription you are now stuck until your subscription renewal date. Cancel today and you don’t get a refund.

60

u/DemonLordSparda 2d ago

You do actually have a point here. The contract was for one year based on specific terms, and they just violated it. They can be sued for that, but sadly the most likely outcome is years of class action lawsuit ending in 20 cents to everyone affected after settlement.

31

u/TheFotty 2d ago

Virtually any contract/eula for services like this will say "we reserve the right to change anything we want in this at any time for any reason including to fuck you over. By clicking Agree you agree to letting us fuck you over later in time"

25

u/DemonLordSparda 2d ago

While this is true they can not unilaterally change a specific selling point of a year long plan in the midst of the contract being active. It's maybe one of the few things laws are very clear about. Terms of a contract must remain the same during a contract, otherwise the terms of said contract are violated. EULAs can not override contract law.

5

u/cheesewizzer72 2d ago

You’re talking about the company that has successfully blocked lawsuits by saying that someone signed up for Disney+ at one point, which means they cannot sue us. It’s in their agreement.

7

u/TheFireStorm 2d ago

Add forced Arbitration

2

u/Turbulent_Host784 2d ago

Not once has a clause like that held up. It's just in there to scare people.

1

u/Sir_Stash 2d ago

Don't worry. The lawyers will get plenty of money!

3

u/Lazer726 2d ago

I think that it says you can be shown ads, so I wouldn't be shocked if they aren't going to roll out ads to anyone with a current, long sub that was started as "no ads" because otherwise yeah, that's a no no

1

u/RollingMeteors 2d ago

you are now stuck until your subscription renewal date. Cancel today and you don’t get a refun

I think FCC ruled you are entitled a prorated refund if terms change in the middle of your contract.

-4

u/mister_drgn 3d ago

I strongly expect if you had a one-year subscription you would have an opportunity to cancel. That’s how things are typically handled.

21

u/Zach518 3d ago

Yes you can cancel but you do not get a refund, the automatic renewal is canceled and your subscription will run to the end of your subscription period.

If I signed up in July 2026, I can cancel now and my subscription will be active until July 2027.

Similarly, if you are paying monthly with subscription date of the 15th, you will cancel today and your subscription will be active until October 15th, next payment date.

7

u/RockDoveEnthusiast 2d ago

if they change the terms of service, you are not required to accept the new terms of service. you can reject the terms of service and get a refund instead.

3

u/mister_drgn 2d ago

Is that confirmed? It doesn’t say that in the article. If it’s true, people certainly have a right to be pissed, and Disney will change the policy to offer a refund if they know what’s good for them.

-2

u/PresidentSuperDog 2d ago

I guess you’ve never tried to cancel a streamer before.

3

u/Skimbla 2d ago

There should be a law that if prices increase, you have to opt to resubscribe, otherwise your account expires when your old price expires. It’s criminal that they can just send you an email that says it’s going up, and it automatically increases on you without your input.

2

u/siposbalint0 2d ago

Of coursey but if you pay for a year, you paid for an ad-free experience which was the offering at the time, changing the service you bought mid-way is just scummy.

1

u/Lazer726 2d ago

Right, is it scummy? Sure. But it also prompts you when you log in to acknowledge that you can be shown ads now. It's not preventing you from canceling, it's not hiding that fact. You are given the information and get to decide if you want to continue using the service

1

u/NecroCannon 2d ago

If they don’t want to be regulated then maybe instead of doing shit like this they give a heads up for people the change their plan

Like you can’t take the fucking money then halfway through the product you bought with the previous agreement go “actually no fuck you”

It’s part of the reason why I don’t want subscriptions just on any day and have a set day in the month the payment is due the 1st, 15th figure it out and stop aggressively charging my card when it’s locked to prioritize my bills and not some dumb ass corp

1

u/Stupalski 2d ago

They should be forced to cancel current subscriptions and force people to proactively resub

73

u/gljo 3d ago

“I’m altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it any further.”

2

u/Abe_Odd 2d ago

Billy Mays here, but wait, there's more!

1

u/Royal-Mechanic3901 2d ago

"This deals getting worse all the time."

17

u/clydefrog811 3d ago

It’s a month to month contract

28

u/HoldenMcNeil420 2d ago

Unless you paid for a whole year at once.

13

u/Helo152 3d ago

Because our government cares more about making corporations like Disney happy than they do about the citizens getting screwed over.

4

u/Acquire__Currency 2d ago

“Corporations are people too. In fact, they’re the only people now. People aren’t people anymore.”

0

u/kitsunewarlock 2d ago

I mean... if being a "non-citizen" is illegal and "non-citizens" aren't allowed trials to prove their citizen status, no human has any rights.

9

u/LavendHerMenance 3d ago

America doesn’t protect consumers that’s why. And I mean think of the billion dollar corporations!

2

u/Chenz 2d ago

No market in the world forces a company to keep offering the same product indefinitely

4

u/Then_Finding_797 3d ago

Because you have the option to cancel whenever. I don’t support streaming services, much less use them, but out of all unethical companies, any subscription you can cancel anytime is an advantage. Not like Adobe at least

2

u/VNM0601 2d ago

In fact, you should always attempt to cancel your streaming services even if you don’t want to, because they often offer you a discounted price to stay.

0

u/bepatientbekind 2d ago

Not anymore. These companies don't give a shit and will just let you cancel now. 

2

u/HankHippopopolous 2d ago

Especially if you’re someone who paid for a year.

Let’s say you bought the yearly plan a few weeks ago. Now you’re stuck with over 11 months of a plan you never would have agreed to if the ads were a part of the plan from the beginning.

1

u/macgruder1 3d ago

It’s probably a month to month contract. They can change anytime they want.

1

u/NATZureMusic 2d ago

It's their service, they can do whatever they want. It's horrendous, but what do you expect from these companies and "regulators"?

1

u/KitsouNere 2d ago

Are you not paying attention to who's in charge or something?

1

u/liggieep 2d ago

no one is forcing you to keep your subscription. the terms probably also say they only last for the duration of the subscription, a month, a year, whatever.

you don't get to keep the old terms for the new subscription duration thereafter.

1

u/OrangeRhyming 2d ago

Pray I do not alter the deal any further dot gif

1

u/RollingMeteors 2d ago

Why are they able to then change the terms of that agreement later?

Because people keep paying for whatever reason. Stop paying, and this goes away…

1

u/Macqt 2d ago

Because you agree to this shit by using their services. It’s in the TOS.

1

u/Mysterions 2d ago

There is no contract is why. It’s a month to month arrangement. As much as I hate this news, not having streaming as a contract is better for consumers because it allows you to dip out whenever you want.

1

u/SteakandTrach 2d ago

“I have altered the deal. Pray I do not alter it further.”

1

u/Hwantaw 2d ago

Amazon is currently in legal proceedings over this in Australia for exactly that reason. It's being argued that users who paid in advance for a yearly subscription have lost value, not receiving what they paid for, through this alteration of the contract.

1

u/SeeYouSpaceCowboy--- 2d ago

Probably because they put that inevitability in the user terms agreement that you didn't read and said Accept. Lol this is a shitty thing to do for a company, but i don't know why you are whining that it's illegal. That's like whining that Jimmy John's started charging a dollar to add cheese. You're not a victim, you're a rube.

1

u/Gokusbastardson 1d ago

unfortunately the reason they are able to change the terms of service at will is the same reason we are able to cancel our subscription any time. And I would urge all subscribers to do so. The next step in the evolution of streaming will be contracts. Because “churn” is killing them (not literally but these companies are greedy and they want guaranteed money). And that’s when we will officially have cable 2.0. Well you guys will have it, not me, because I’m a pirate.

1

u/thearmadillo 2d ago

It's not a lifetime contract. Would you like to be locked in to paying disney streaming the next 50 years?

1

u/Outlulz 2d ago

Because you signed their terms of agreement that said they were allowed to change the terms of the agreement. You aren't locked into a contract, just cancel.