Disney+ may soon offer a free tier to compete with YouTube and entice viewers to stay on the streaming service. Adam Smith, Disney's chief product and technology officer, pitched the idea during a company town hall this week. It seems to be one of several ideas Disney is considering to bring in potential customers (h/t Business Insider).
Importantly, there are currently no indications of what shows or movies would be included in this potential free tier of Disney+. Like most streamers, the House of Mouse is trying to figure out how to capture more viewers and their eyeballs. Netflix has even reportedly started testing out the return of free trials, something that would have been unthinkable a year ago.
The rise of YouTube
Despite seeing subscriber growth in the last year, platforms like Netflix and Disney+ remain firmly behind YouTube when it comes to viewership. The most recent Nielsen data shows YouTube with 13.4% TV watch-time compared to Disney+, which had 9.4% in the summer of 2025.
Meanwhile, data from DemandSage shows Netflix topped 325 million subscribers by the end of 2025, a 25 million subscriber increase from 2024. Disney+, conversely, is recovering from a massive drop in 2024, though it still has over 125 million subscribers, per Statista.
Of course, the biggest hurdle in growing subscriber bases for these streaming services is the several price hikes across every streaming service over the last two years. The cost of streaming in 2026 is already more expensive than in years past. Netflix just raised prices again in March, and Disney+ bumped its rates in September of last year.
The big streamers are clearly experimenting. Earlier this year, Disney+ announced "microcontent" and "Verts" (short-form vertical video content) to pull attention away from TikTok and Instagram Reels. Netflix debuted its own vertical videos in April and won't stop recommending video podcasts.
