Disney+ confirms ad-supported tier launch in Australia as Netflix, Amazon and Paramount+ expand ad plans
Disney will finally introduce its long-awaited ad-supported plan in Australia for price-sensitive consumers battling cost-of-living.
In that slow march of streaming morphing into some hybrid of itself and broadcast TV, Disney has confirmed it will launch an ad-supported tier in Australia “in the coming months”.
The ad tier will be known as “standard with ads” and will be an additional option to its existing standard and premium plans, which will remain ad-free.
Disney has not revealed prices, which will be confirmed closer to launch. The Nightly understands it will be comparable to other streamers’ ad-supported tiers.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Netflix charges $9.99 a month for its ad plan, HBO Max is priced at $11.99, while Paramount+ is priced at $7.99.
Amazon’s Prime Video offering is an opt-out, which requires its subscribers to pay $2.99 a month on top of its $9.99 monthly or $79 annual fee to avoid ads. Prime has just jacked up that opt-out fee by 67 per cent for US members, but there are no moves yet in Australia.
Disney’s current tiers cost $15.99 monthly or $159.99 annually for its standard plan or $20.99 monthly or $209.99 annually for its premium plan.
No confirmation yet on whether those prices will remain the same once the ad-tier is rolled out. Disney most recently increased its streaming subscription costs in March 2025 and before that in March 2024.
The introduction of an ad tier had been expected for some time. The news that ads were coming to Disney+ was announced in August 2022 and was launched in the US in December that same year, followed by European markets a year later.
Advertising revenues have become an attractive extra source of income for streaming platforms. Netflix has previously claimed that its ad-tier members were more valuable (higher average revenue per user) than those on its standard plan because it can make money off their subscription fees and by selling them to advertisers.
Ad tiers are also packaged as an alternative for price-sensitive households contending with cost-of-living pressures and are also advertising-tolerant.
According to Deloitte’s 2025 Media & Entertainment Consumer Insights report, the average Australian households pay for 3.7 digital entertainment subscriptions, but 78 per cent were worried about their spending in the category.
Netflix had previously said it would never carry advertising on its platform but reversed its position after its share price tanked in early 2022 following a decline in membership. Ads were rolled out later that year.
Disney followed soon after, but in the US, Hulu, which at the time Disney had a two-thirds stake in and now owns outright, had long had ad-supported and ad-free plans.
In January 2025, during the CES conference, Disney said its ad tiers reached 157 million people (based on an estimated average 2.6 viewers per account), globally, on a monthly average over the past six months. Eighty-three per cent of households had at least one TV streaming subscription.
During an earnings call in November 2024, former chief executive Bob Iger said 60 per cent of new sign-ups in the US were to the ad tiers. He added 37 per cent of its members in the US and 30 per cent globally were on ad-supported plans.
Netflix revealed that its ad revenues hit $US1.5 billion in 2025 and it expected that to double in 2026.
