Disney said it is exploring launching a FAST product, or free, ad-supported channels for consumers.
“We’re exploring a free product for consumers, one that will allow us to accomplish several goals and hopefully do that efficiently,” CEO Josh D’Amaro said on the earnings call Wednesday. “First, we see it as a way to expand our reach to a customer segment that’s more price sensitive, and expanding our reach is as we’ve talked about before, one of our strategic priorities.”
“Second, unlike a lot of our AVOD competitors, we’re fairly well sold, meaning more inventory would actually help us accelerate our ad revenue growth,” he said, adding that a free offering would also help funnel Disney Plus subscriber growth.
“Nothing specific to announce today, but definitely something that we’re considering,” he concluded.
FAST services have been gaining traction, after Fox, announced plans to acquire Roku, and with it, the Roku Channel, to bolster its own streaming ambitions. Netflix also signaled that it was considering launching its own service, after noting that “a free offering could make sense in some markets.”
“Free is something that we’re going to continue to consider, but we have no near-term plans to launch something,” Netflix Co-CEO Greg Peters said in July.
Meanwhile, FAST services have been taking off, with Tubi, capturing 2.3 percent of all TV viewing in the U.S. in May, while the Roku Channel captured 3.1 percent of all TV viewing that month
Disney no longer reports subscriber numbers. As of late 2025, the company reported Disney+ subscribers at 132 million, up 3.8 million compared to Q3, and Disney+ and Hulu subscribers rising by 12.4 million to 196 million.
In Wednesday’s earnings report, Disney reported SVOD entertainment revenue (which includes Disney+ and Hulu without ESPN) at $712 million, in a big increase from a year ago. The company also teased plan to turn Disney+ into “a comprehensive membership ecosystem,” which will begin rolling out early next year. Disney also announced a deal Wednesday to include TikTok videos from fans on the Disney+ platform.
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