Disney Plus is considering making some streaming content available for free. TechCrunch reported on July 10 that Disney discussed the possibility of offering free-tier content at an internal town hall meeting.
Adam Smith (아담 스미스), Disney’s chief product and technology officer, mentioned the plan at the town hall meeting held last Thursday. The company has not decided which films or series would be made free or when it would be introduced.
Disney Plus appears to be considering the plan to respond to competition from free services such as YouTube and Tubi. Free streaming services are rapidly increasing their share of viewer watch time.
Price increases across the streaming industry are also cited as a factor. As major services raise fees, viewers are moving to ad-based services. According to Nielsen, free streaming services accounted for 18.7 percent of U.S. TV viewing time in April 2026. That rose from 16.8 percent in April 2025 and 12.7 percent in April 2024.
Apple TV+ and Paramount+ already offer some free episodes to non-subscribers.
Chi-gyu Hwang
delight@d-today.co.kr