- Three subscription models after the December 2025 price increase: standard with advertising for 6.99 EUR/month, standard ad-free for 10.99 EUR and premium for 15.99 EUR. All three tiers were raised, the gap between the ad and ad-free tier remains stable at 4 EUR.
- 164 million users worldwide on the ad tier: more than half of all new sign-ups worldwide choose the ad-financed subscription directly, a structural shift that makes Disney+ one of the fastest growing CTV ad inventories globally.
- In-house ad tech with an automation ambition: by 2027, Disney aims to handle 75% of advertising revenue automated via programmatic channels, and is building one of the most ambitious in-house ad stacks in the streaming market for this.
What is Disney+?
Disney+ is the streaming service of the Walt Disney Company, launched in 2019 and available in Germany since November 2020. The platform unites the entire IP universe of Disney, from Pixar animated films to Marvel series and the Star Wars universe to National Geographic documentaries and the "Star" area with content for an adult audience. In Germany, Disney+ has additionally entered a local content partnership with ZDF Studios and brings over 3,000 episodes of German series to the platform, including originals like Sam, ein Sachse and Call My Agent: Berlin.
Pricing model: three tiers, raised from December 2025
The price increase of December 2025 kept the gap between the ad tier and the ad-free standard at 4 EUR, a deliberate signal that keeps the ad tier attractive. More than 70% of German Disney+ subscribers consider the ad volume acceptable according to YouGov.
Content: franchises as a subscription promise
What distinguishes Disney+ from all other services in this article series: the binding power comes not from a broad library catalog, but from a few, extremely strong franchises. Anyone who wants to watch Marvel series or new Star Wars productions has no alternative to Disney+. This exclusivity generates a willingness to pay that remains robust independent of price increases.
The "Star" area supplements the offering with broader entertainment content, series and films beyond the Disney brand worlds, and thereby also addresses adults without an affinity for superheroes or animated films.
Advertising: behavioral targeting and automation ambition
Targeting developed significantly in 2025: in addition to demographic attributes and genre targeting, Disney introduces four behavior-based audience segments, Empathetic Escapists, Reflective Explorers, Social Shapers and Comfort Connectors, which are based on usage behavior and content affinities and enable a psychographic audience approach that is new in the German CTV market.
Conclusion: franchise power as a differentiation strategy
In the German streaming market, Disney+ is neither the strongest in reach nor the cheapest, but the most distinctive. Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar create a subscriber loyalty that absorbs price increases and offers advertisers a qualitatively homogeneous, brand-safe environment with a clearly defined audience.