Roku has announced that its ad-supported Disney+ tier, Disney+ Basic, is now available to users. When the ad-supported plan launched in his four months, many users were surprised to find it inaccessible on Roku.
At the time, Disney told TechCrunch that it was still in talks with Roku about reaching a win-win deal. It was our understanding at the time that the dispute was about an ad-sharing agreement, as by default channels are required to enter an ad revenue split with Roku.
Four months later, all users of Roku’s streaming devices now have ad-supported plans available. Disney+ Basic (with ads) is $7.99/month and Disney+ Premium (no ads) is $10.99/month.
With Disney+ Basic, viewers can stream high-quality video such as Full HD, HDR10, 4K Ultra HD, Dolby Vision, and extended aspect ratios with IMAX Enhanced. Subscribers can also stream simultaneously on up to four supported devices. Additionally, the advertising plan includes Disney+’s complete content catalog. Tier ads can be 15 to 30 or 45 seconds long. Disney+ also limits total ad load to an average of four minutes of commercials per hour. Preschool content has no ads.
However, this plan does not allow offline viewing or downloading. Other features not included in Disney+ Basic are GroupWatch, SharePlay, and Dolby Atmos. A Disney spokesperson told TechCrunch last December that the company hopes to support this in the future, though it’s unclear exactly when.
Disney+ says on its support website that users will be able to start streaming Disney+ Basic on their Roku after updating the Disney+ app to the latest version.
