Disney Advertising, a division of The Walt Disney Company, revealed its methodology for calculating ad-supported audience numbers. The metric is based on active accounts that watched ad-supported content for more than 10 seconds across Disney’s three platforms. Each active account is multiplied by an estimated number of users per account to calculate the total audience.
The company clarified that the numbers are not de-duplicated, meaning users subscribed to more than one platform (e.g., both Disney+ and Hulu) may be counted multiple times. These multipliers are based on survey data from over 13,000 individuals aged 18-64 in regions where ad-supported tiers are available.
Rita Ferro, Disney’s President of Global Advertising, said,“With unrivaled streaming, ample global ad opportunities supported by enormous scale, Disney operates at the convergence of premier sport and entertainment content. For this reason, we believed it necessary to speak first when it comes to engaging global ad supported monthly active users, and provide details of the methods that we believe are used for estimating us.”
Additionally, To enhance growth, Disney has been concentrating on the expansion of its ad-supported tiers. Following the introduction of the ad-supported plan at the end of 2022, more than half of the new U.S. subscribers of Disney+ have chosen this cheaper option. This new loss in the United States corresponds with Disney’s plans to promote the use of ad-supported variants while raising the cost of ad-free plans.