Disney Premium and advertising: false alarm about commercial breaks (or almost)

A few weeks ago, the web was ablaze upon reading Disney+'s new Terms and Conditions of Subscription, first in the United States and then in Europe (see our Disney+ news: ads for everyone, even Premium subscribers?). The text indeed seemed to suggest that the platform would force the display of advertising, even on those who specifically pay for the Premium offer in order not to have any. As often happens, you had to read the fine print, but above all read between the lines: according to several internal sources interviewed by the American media outlet The Desk, the company has no intention whatsoever of imposing traditional commercial spots for third-party products on its paying subscribers.

 

A simple legal subtlety for self-promotion It was therefore a legal subtlety that will have set everything off. The update to the terms and conditions was in fact apparently designed to give Disney greater room for maneuver in order to include promotional spots for its own films, series, and live events, before or after watching a program. The use of the term "advertising" in the text would simply aim to standardize the terms worldwide, with some countries legally considering self-promotion to be advertising. In the same way as Paramount+ or Netflix, Disney+ would therefore simply offer its own trailers, which users will also be able to skip ("skip") at any time, whether they are subscribed with or without advertising.

 

France affected since June 18 Note that in its version for France, this legal text was updated on June 18, and already includes these famous mentions, stating: "All subscription offers may include: promotional content, sponsorships, advertisements before/after content playback". Self-promotional ads therefore only occur before or after a program. Films and series will only truly be broken up by recurring ad breaks on the Standard with ads option. It should also be noted that live channel broadcasts and sporting events will retain traditional TV spots, inherent to the nature of these streams.

 

Ad blockers still in the crosshairs One amusing detail remains in the terms and conditions concerning those clever users who try to get around the system with ad blockers: "If we find that you are using an ad blocker and/or that you have taken steps to prevent the display of said ads, we may: suspend or terminate your subscription after notifying you; and/or block your viewing until you take steps to allow the ads to be displayed". Nothing changes on this specific point.

 

Disney's help page has been updated to reassure subscribers: those who pay for the Premium version will continue to have access to films and series "without commercial interruption". The new terms and conditions including self-promotion are already in force.