“After a thorough review of ad policies across its linear networks and streaming platforms over the last few months, Disney is now aligning Hulu’s political advertising policies to be consistent with the company’s general entertainment and sports cable networks and ESPN+,” Disney said in a statement, first reported by Axios. The news comes after lawyers and Democratic lobbyers blasted Hulu for turning down ads that criticized the GOP on abortion rights and gun issues, following the Supreme Court overturn of Roe v. Wade and the multiple school shootings this year, with the Supreme Court enacting an open-carry gun mandate in New York State.
Disney’s statement continued, “Hulu will now accept candidate and issue advertisements covering a wide spectrum of policy positions, but reserves the right to request edits or alternative creative, in alignment with industry standards.”
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Sources from national Democratic organizations spoke to the Washington Post about Hulu rejecting joint ads on abortion and gun access in a July 15 investigative report. Meanwhile, Disney’s ESPN and WPVI-TV, the ABC-owned station in Philadelphia, had accepted and run the same ads.
“Hulu’s censorship of the truth is outrageous and offensive,” the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee previously tweeted. “Voters have the right to know the facts about MAGA Republicans’ extreme agenda on abortion — Hulu is doing a huge disservice to the American people.”
While Hulu will now include political advertisements, the upcoming ad-supported tier of Disney+ will not accept political ads or promotional materials for alcohol or rival streamers. To note, the updated Hulu protocol is presumed to accept ads from both sides of the political aisle, despite Democrats solely pushing for the platform. Disney+ recently added R-rated Marvel films “Deadpool,” “Deadpool 2,” and “Logan,” with a statement reminding users to update their parental control settings.
Rival streamer Netflix will also be rolling out an ad-supported tier in early 2023.
This year, Walt Disney Co. has been at the center of controversy for financially backing the sponsor of, and later denouncing, the “Don’t Say Gay” bill in Florida. Governor Ron DeSantis retaliated by abolishing the Walt Disney Co.’s special district for its theme parks in the state. DeSantis claimed that Disney aimed to “inject sexuality into the programming that is provided to our youngest kids.” Florida taxpayers have since filed an ongoing lawsuit over the district repeal.
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