On February 12, 2025, Disney sent an email to users of their online streaming services, announcing a newly updated "Subscriber Agreement." These changes — which affect not only Disney+ subscriptions, but also ESPN and Hulu — include a particularly curious linguistic interpretation of the words "advertising" and also "free." From the email:
as we continue to increase the breadth and depth of the content we make available to you, circumstances may require that certain titles and types of content include ads, even in our 'no ads' or 'ad free' subscription tiers.
To recap, broadcast TV networks traditionally made money from advertising earned through commercial placement. Most modern streaming services offer a lower-tiered subscription that mimics this profit-making approach — which is to say, you still get ads. But those same companies also offer "premium" services, for which users can pay more money to not have to watch programmatic commercials in the middle of their favorite shows or movies. The price differential is presumably designed to help the company compensate for the lost advertising revenue.
But now — even though you pay more — you might still be forced to watch ads anyway. Wait, what?!
The AV Club reached out to the company for clarification, and reports that:
The update only applies to sports and other live events that would have ad space built in anyway. So, it would seem, the issue is more of the standard "streaming is reinventing cable" variety than the "words are meaningless and we have no consumer protections anymore" category.
Okay. That seems fair. A bullet dodged, perhaps. For now. Maybe. Though the ambiguous language still leaves the possibility open.
But there were some other curious changes to the Terms of Service that might not be so easily smoothed over. Consider this addition, from the email:
We're clarifying that the same arbitration agreement applies to Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu.
You may recall that, in the summer of 2024, Disney faced a PR nightmare after a person died from an allergic reaction at a Disney World Resort restaurant. It wasn't just the death; it was the fact that the company initially tried to dismiss the lawsuit against them by pointing out that the surviving widow had signed up for a free trial of Disney+ four years earlier, and that the terms and conditions of the streaming service—including forced arbitration, even after you cancel the service—also applied to the company's theme parks.
Disney ultimately backed down from this particular legal tactic, after a particularly embarrassing publicity backlash. Yet here we are, some six months later, and it seems like the company is not backing down from the tactic entirely — but rather, expanding its potential reach. In fact, the actual terms of service have been updated to clarify this (emphasis added):
You…agree to resolve, by binding individual arbitration, all Disputes (including any related disputes involving The Walt Disney Company or its affiliates)…
"Dispute" includes any claim, dispute, action, or other controversy, whether based on past, present, or future events, whether based in contract, tort, statute, or common law, between you and us concerning the Services…
And finally, this bit of clarification:
Arbitration Agreement Survival. This arbitration agreement will survive the termination of your relationship with Disney+ and/or ESPN+ and/or Hulu, including any revocation of consent or other action by you to end your participation in the Services of any communication with us.
So just so we're clear: you're trapped in this forced arbitration deal for life.
There is some good new though: according to the updated Terms of Service, you can still opt out of this Forced Arbitration clause — if you send them a letter by mail within 30 days. You can find more details on the Disney Plus site; look for 7G.
