The Disney+ streaming service is reportedly facing an exodus of advertisers from its ad-supported tier after subscriptions failed to meet expectations and several high-profile Star Wars and other Lucasfilm series flopped with viewers.
Launched to drive more revenue into Disney’s coffers, the ad-supported tier of Disney+ is struggling to hold onto advertisers who have become disenchanted with the platform, according to a recent report from an anonymous advertising professional known as “Kiss My Grits” (“KMG”), who was featured on the Valliant Renegade YouTube channel.
“The ad tier subscription numbers are nowhere near what they assumed they were going to get,” KMG said in the video.
KMG also alleged that Disney+ has failed to deliver the promised number of ad impressions to certain advertisers.
“So they’re under-delivering by vast amounts on several of the campaigns that are running on that platform. And and as a result of what is happening is the advertisers are obviously not very happy. And so they are pulling money from those campaigns. They’re saying, ‘All right if you’re not meeting the delivery that you promised me, I’m placing that money elsewhere.’”
KMG also accused Disney of being opaque about its advertising figures when it comes to streaming — a sign that revenue dollars may not be where they need to be.
Like other major streamers, Disney is trying to shift subscribers to the ad-supported tier because the option is more lucrative for the studio.
Disney still charges a monthly subscription fee for the ad-supported option and then reaps ad revenue on top of that by forcing customers to sit through commercials.
But the failure of some high-profile Disney+ series has apparently hurt the studio’s advertising outlook.
The Star Wars series The Acolyte was cancelled after just one season after costing the studio an estimated $180 million. The highly touted series, which featured a coven of lesbian witches, failed to entice viewers, with viewership declining steadily throughout the first and only season.
Another Lucasfilm disaster was the series Willow, which was also cancelled after one season.
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