Now that Disney Plus is trying ads, how long until the rest of the streamers do, too?

Disney Plus’ big ad experiment will arrive on the service later this year, meaning that users will have the option of sitting through advertisements in exchange for a slightly cheaper plan. On the one hand, that’s great news for streamers on a budget. Ad-supported plans give consumers a lot of flexibility to sign up for pricey services they may otherwise pass over. But it’s also a nice little workaround for boosting subscribers fast — something services are keenly aware of as they fight for our attention and our money.

“We’re seeing an evolution of the market away from the monolithic business models of old,” Paul Erickson of research firm Parks Associates tells The Verge. “A lot of the players in the market, they’re not going to just...

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