On Wednesday, Disney confirmed to Axios that it will allow political issue ads — in addition to candidate ads — on its Hulu streaming service, effective immediately, with Hulu’s ad policies aligned with those of Disney’s cable networks.
Why it matters: The change comes amid controversy over Hulu’s decision to reject politically-themed ads around guns and abortion from Democratic groups.
- These issues have become central to Democratic midterm messaging, and Disney’s decision to reject Hulu ads has sparked complaints of censorship.
Details: Hulu’s ad guidelines will now match those used for Disney’s cable networks, such as ESPN and FX, allowing issue and candidate ads to appear on the service as long as they comply with Disney’s general advertising standards.
- Yes, but: The company said it still reserves the right to ask customers for ad edits or alternative ads that comply with its standards.
Be smart: These are different advertising standards than those used by Disney’s broadcast networks, such as ABC and its local ABC affiliates. Broadcasters are required by law to accept ads from political candidates on any topic, no matter how controversial.
- Broadcasters are prohibited by law from rejecting an ad for a political candidate based on its content, except for obscenity.
Between the lines: Hulu has banned issue advertising for years, though it accepts candidate advertising. But now that Disney has majority control of the streamer, it is moving to integrate Hulu’s policies to match Disney’s.
- “Following a thorough review of advertising policies across its linear networks and streaming platforms over the past several months, Disney is now aligning Hulu’s political advertising policies with the Company’s general entertainment and sports cable networks and ESPN+,” Disney said.
- “Hulu will now accept candidates and run ads covering a wide range of political positions, but reserves the right to require edits or alternative ads, consistent with industry standards.”
- Disney said it won’t accept political or alcohol ads when it introduces an ad-supported tier for Disney+ later this year, in an effort to keep the service family-friendly. According to its statement on Hulu’s decision, ESPN+ will accept political ads.
Cut: The saga comes amid a year of political turbulence for Disney. The company’s CEO faced backlash from employees after he initially refused to talk about Florida’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which was later signed into law.
- Conservatives later targeted Disney’s decision to speak out against the bill after a backlash.
The big picture: The 2022 midterm elections are expected to be the first campaign cycle in which connected television (CTV) ads or streaming ads will command a significant market share of political ad spending.
- According to the latest data from AdImpact, an advertising analytics firm, about $2.9 billion has already been spent on the US midterm elections.
Data: AdImpact; Graphics: Will Chase/Axios
What to watch for: Most major media companies have no incentive to block ads related to a particular ideology, especially given how lucrative they can be.
- But because these kinds of policies are difficult to implement without upsetting one side or the other, some companies — including Twitter and TikTok — have chosen not to sell political advertising at all.
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