Disney+ is opening its "ad-free" subscriptions to advertising
Disney+ is currently sending out an inconspicuous email regarding updated terms of use. It contains explosive news: even in the most expensive premium subscription, the company reserves the right to display advertisements in the future.
«All Disney+ subscriptions to get ads», headlines the German tech portal Golem. Clear, unambiguous, and alarming – only not entirely accurate. The problem is that neither the underlying contract change nor Disney's own statement says what the headline claims. What is certain, however, is explosive enough to warrant a closer look.
Let's take it one step at a time. Disney+ changed its terms of use as of June 18, 2026, and has been informing its customers – including those in Switzerland – about this via email in recent days. The new addition: All subscription options may contain advertising in the future. Previously, this was only the case with the cheapest subscription, «Standard with ads».
What does this mean in concrete terms?
«Can», not «will»
First of all, Disney makes no secret of its own contradiction. On the Swiss subscription page, it is even shown in black and white: For Premium (from CHF 17.90) and Standard (from CHF 13.90), there is still a big checkmark next to «Ad-free movies and series», while the footnote directly below admits the exact opposite.
Source: disneyplus.com/de-ch
That is not ideal. Nevertheless, it says «can», not «will». With this clause, Disney is merely creating the contractual basis to show ads in all subscriptions one day.
At least the footnote explicitly mentions only advertising before and after playback, not during a movie or a series episode. Classic mid-roll advertising, as known from YouTube or Prime Video (in Germany), is therefore not covered for the time being. This perhaps also explains why Disney simply leaves the «ad-free» checkmark in place instead of removing it: Other providers with explicit ad-free promises are not quite as precise about it either.
HBO Max, for example, reserves the right in its help articles to display «content with sponsorships and product placements» as well as «program trailers» in Standard and Premium – regardless of the subscription booked. And even Apple TV, which traditionally positions itself explicitly as ad-free, regularly shows trailers for other Apple productions before the start of its own movies and series. From the providers' point of view, self-promotion is apparently not «real» advertising.
How exaggerated is the Golem headline really?
When asked by Golem, Disney confirmed that the clause actually applies to all subscriptions. However, the company remained in the subjunctive even then: Advertising «could» be part of it, for example with live sports, «as is common in the industry». There is no mention of «getting ads» anywhere in the statement.
Golem's headline is therefore, if you will, exaggerated to the point of untruth: Neither the email nor Disney's own statement says that advertising is coming now. Only that it could come. A subjunctive is not a guarantee, no matter how tempting the headline may sound to the author.
What does this mean for subscribers?
Whether advertising actually appears in Premium and Standard in the end, no one knows except Disney itself – even if you don't need an oracle to figure out a possible answer. The more exciting question is likely the «when» and the type of advertising anyway.
The contradiction between the advertising promise and the fine print is already causing anger. On Reddit, numerous users are announcing that they will cancel their subscription, or claim to have already done so. Disney may therefore only be keeping all doors open with the new clause for now. For a portion of its customer base, that is apparently enough to drive them away.
I write about technology as if it were cinema, and about films as if they were real life. Between bits and blockbusters, I’m after stories that move people, not just generate clicks. And yes – sometimes I listen to film scores louder than I probably should.
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