Disney+ is no longer offering free trials for new subscribers, French pop culture outlet Numerara first reported.
The service formerly offered a seven-day trial but appears to have quietly phased it out this week. When new subscribers navigate through the sign-up process, they are prompted to immediately begin paying for the $6.99 per month service (which is heavily marketed as part of a $12.99 bundle with Hulu and ESPN+).
“We continue to test and evaluate different marketing, offers, and promotions to grow Disney+. The service was set at an attractive price-to-value proposition that we believe delivers a compelling entertainment offering on its own,” a Disney+ spokesperson said in a statement to The Verge.
The move notably comes two weeks before the debut of the highly-anticipated film version of the hit Broadway musical “Hamilton” on the platform, which was bumped up 15 months amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, users will have to pay for at least a month to screen the 11-time Tony winner when it drops on July 3.
Among major streaming services, Apple TV+, HBO Max and HBO Now, and Showtime still offer seven-day free trials, while Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu offer 30-day free trials; mobile short-former streamer Quibi was an outlier with a 90-day free trial period through the end of April.
Since its launch last November, Disney+ has racked up over 54.5 million subscribers worldwide. According to a study by the American Customer Satisfaction Index released last week, the service is unmatched in the saturated streaming market when it comes to customer satisfaction.