Disney to introduce an affordable ad-supported service in the UK.

As the company's earnings continue to decline, Disney+ intends to introduce a new, less expensive streaming service with advertisements in the UK in November.

The plan, which is already offered in the US, will also be made accessible in Canada and several regions of Europe.

In the UK, the new tier will cost £4.99 a month, while current users will pay an additional £3 to maintain their present benefits.

It also has plans to strictly enforce password security, following rival Netflix's lead in this regard.

Disney is dealing with a number of problems, such as subpar movie performances and a dramatic decline in advertising revenue.

The company's overall sales increased by 4% year over year in the three months that ended on July 1, but it reported a $460 million loss as opposed to a $1.4 billion profit during the same time the previous year.

In the UK, there is presently only one price category for Disney+, which costs £7.99 per month. However, three more price tiers will be available starting in November. These consist of:

• Standard with advertisements: £4.99/month.
• Standard: £7.99 per month, which is the same as the above but without advertisements.
• Premium: £10.99 per month; includes downloads, up to four simultaneous devices, and 4K video.

The benefits of the new premium service are already available to all UK members, thus its launch will essentially result in a £3 per month price rise for those who wish to maintain the same services.

The launch of Disney's ad-supported service follows a comparable step made by Netflix's competitor last year.

It was one of many measures used by Netflix, the market leader, as subscriber growth started to slow down in 2022.

The dominant streaming service also pushed down on account sharing, something Disney also plans to do, according to Mr Iger.

The firm highlighted development in its streaming division, whose losses were reduced from a year earlier to around $500 million in the three months leading up to July 1st.

(Sources: bbc.co.uk)