• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, October 27, 2023

Nearly a year after its launch, the Disney+ ad-supported tier has introduced audience targeting using its first-party audience graph and programmatic buying through private marketplaces (PMPs), and expanded its measurement offerings and accepted creative formats. 

The enhancements — possible because Disney+ has now reached sufficient scale —were revealed in tandem with an announcement that Rita Ferro is being promoted from president of Disney advertising to president of global advertising. 

Disney+, which offered only targeting by age group when it launched in December, added geotargeting including state/designated market area, and age/gender options this past summer. Starting in November 1, advertisers will now also be able to use the first-party data in Disney’s audience graph, which has 235 million unique viewers, 110 million households and more than 2,000 interest- and behavior-based audience segments, according to the company. 

Disney+’s ad inventory, up to now available only through direct or programmatic guaranteed deals, can now be purchased through PMPs or invite-only auctions. They are available across 30 demand-side platforms that span large, midmarket and local platforms, including The Trade Desk, Viant and Google’s DV360. 

The platform, which already offered measurement through Samba TV and VideoAmp, has added the ability to measure ads’ foot traffic impact through Cuebiq and Foursquare, brand lift measurement by Kantar, reach and frequency insights from Data Plus Math and iSpot.tv, and web and app conversion measurement through InnovidXP. 

The streaming service is working with ad verification and delivery vendors including DoubleVerify, Moat, IAS, AdForm, DCM, Extreme Reach, Flashtalking, Innovid, Jivox and Sizmek, to offer verification, creative delivery and aggregated reporting. 

Disney+ ad-supported tier reached 3.3 million subscribers (out of a total 146 million) as of the end of Disney’s fiscal Q3 ended July 1. 

Half of new subscribers are now picking the ad-supported tier, and it has saw a 35% increase in viewing time between March and September. 

The streaming service is also accepting a wider range of ad-length formats, including midrolls, as well as ads ranging from 15s to :90s, and it’s promoting holiday-season content sponsorships.