Once upon a time, in the “Long, Long Ago,” all television was free. I know, it seems like talking about medieval times. And now, in the year 2026, many of these streamers are starting to see the value in “free.” According to a recent report in Business Insider, the Walt Disney Company is discussing making some content accessible on Disney+ without a paywall. Disney’s product and tech chief, Adam Smith, spoke about enabling free-tier content during a streaming town hall recently. However, there is no timeline for this potential initiative from Disney+, at least not yet.
Almost all the paid streamers have raised prices recently, right as wages have become stagnant for most people. And folks simply don’t have the money to spend on entertainment they once had. As a result, consumers are gravitating more and more toward free content on YouTube, along with ad-supported services like Tubi and The Roku Channel. While Disney+ will often drop full episodes for free on YouTube, like Wonder Man and X-Men ’97, they still have to use a different platform to get their content out for free. It makes sense to simply cut out the middleman and give viewers a free tier on the service itself.
So what kind of programming would become available on Disney+ without a paid subscription? We think you can look to some of their shows that are popular on the streamer, but not mega-popular. Shows that are getting good social media responses and critical feedback, but are struggling with retaining viewership. Think the second season of Daredevil: Born Again, for instance. Something like that would be a perfect candidate for a free Disney+ option. With D23 coming up soon, maybe they’ll have some kind of announcement about a free tier on Disney+. Currently, the Disney+ and Hulu bundle costs $12.99 a month with ads or $19.99 without ads at full price.