To compete with YouTube, Disney+ might turn to Tubi ‣ Diverse Daily

Disney+ has a huge catalog of movies, TV shows, and documentaries, spanning more adult-oriented Marvel and Star Wars series, to a deep well of childhood classics. It’s also, unfortunately, a bit expensive at $12 per month with ads or $19 a month without. Netflix still takes the cake in terms of the $27 it charges for its premium subscription, but toss in things like Hulu and ESPN and Disney+ quickly get into the same ballpark.

While access to Bluey is essential to many parents, the high cost of Disney+ and other streaming services makes free options like YouTube all the more appealing. That’s a problem for Disney, and Business Insider reports that one way the company could address it isn’t by offering even more entertainment for the same price, but instead offering a selection of its library entirely for free.

Disney+ might be going FAST

Offering free content backed by ads could let Disney offer a YouTube-like experience.

Free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) is not a new concept, but it is one that’s become increasingly popular as the cost of streaming service subscriptions has ballooned. As multiple recommendations from Pocket-lint hopefully prove, between Tubi and The Roku Channel you can have access to a pretty eclectic collection of TV and movies, you just have to be willing to sit through ads.

In the case of Disney, Business Insider writes that Adam Smith, Chief Product & Technology Officer for Disney Entertainment told staff at a town hall that he was considering a free tier for the service, but didn’t share when it might be added or how much content it could include.

Other streaming services like Apple TV and Paramount+ offer free episodes as a way to sample series before subscribing. Considering Disney+ already has the means to insert ads, though, it could theoretically go further. What’s to stop Disney+ from including some Tubi-like live channels with children’s programming, or a curated selection of movies with baked-in ad breaks? Either could be the start of a compelling counter to YouTube and other FAST services.

YouTube is already a television alternative

The data suggests YouTube is more popular than other streaming services

It’s easy to think of YouTube as a service most people access on their smartphone or laptop, but it’s just as common in the living room. YouTube has announced several changes in the last two years to make the service more like a streaming service, letting creators package their videos into seasons with episodes, and redesigning the TV version of the YouTube app to be more of a lean-back experience.

No part of this transition is being brute forced. According to Nielsen, YouTube accounted for 13.45 percent of monthly TV viewing in the US during April 2026, more than competitors like Netflix or Disney. It’s only logical Disney would see them as a threat it has to respond to.

The data suggests that people might not really care, but Disney delivering some of its library for free would really put that to the test.

Of course, the major difference between YouTube and Disney+ is the kinds of content they offer. YouTube licenses some movies and TV shows (users and organizations legally and illegally upload others), but the company primarily streams user-generated videos. YouTube creators are more and more professionalized, but they’re still not operating with the budgets of major film studios or television networks. Disney is, and Disney+ is full of high-budget series and movies produced by that system.

The data suggests that people might not really care, but Disney delivering some of its library for free would really put that to the test.

Disney+ is changing one way or another

Super app plans and the advent of vertical content

Before it morphs into Tubi, Disney might put an even wilder plan in the works. According to Bloomberg, the company’s executives are considering turning Disney+ into a “super app.” That term is normally applied to a class of apps popular internationally that combine things like payments and banking with social media or messaging features, but Disney is likely taking a different approach. The super app version of Disney+ could integrate the service’s existing entertainment library with all the other services Disney offers, including ones tied to its physical footprint across parks and cruises. It’s not clear that would have any more of a positive effect than giving content for free, but the company is clearly interested in trying new things.

Wherever Disney lands, clearly Disney+ is already changing. The company added vertical, TikTok-style content to the service in January 2026. If there’s room for that, there could be room for new features or a free streaming channel, too.