Verizon Customers: How to Get a Free Year of Disney+

Do you want to watch Disney+ without paying for it? If you’re a Verizon customer, you can get a one-year subscription for free. Here’s how.

By Ben Moore

The release of the new Disney+ streaming video service is imminent, and, while its $6.99-per-month cost isn’t expensive by any means, it represents yet another potential monthly subscription fee. Given its expansive library of existing content and announced originals, Disney+ will tempt many audiences, from families with young kids to Star Wars fanatics to Marvel stans to die-hard Pixar enthusiasts. There’s good news for select Verizon subscribers, though. They won’t need to think twice about signing up, because Verizon is offering its customers a free one-year subscription to Disney+. Below, we explain who’s eligible for the deal and how to get it.

What Is Disney+?

Disney+ is Disney’s on-demand video streaming service that will launch on November 12. The service will bundle all of Disney’s content including Pixar movies, classic Disney films, Marvel flicks, and Star Wars installments all in one place. Disney’s recent acquisition of 21st Century Fox also means that top shows from that network, such as The Simpsons, will also be available to stream. Disney already has plans for tons of original shows and movies, too, including Marvel’s Hero Project, a new High School Musical series, a live-action Lady and the Tramp remake, Monsters at Work , and The Mandalorian .

Disney+’s top technical features include unlimited downloads for offline viewing and an ad-free experience. The service also supports 4K and HDR technologies, up to four simultaneous streams, personalized recommendations, and seven user profiles per subscription. These features compare well with what’s offered by the best current on-demand video streaming services like Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and Netflix.

Who Qualifies for a Free Year of Disney+?

To get Verizon’s Disney+ deal, you must be: (1) a new or existing subscriber to either a Verizon wireless unlimited plan (4G LTE or 5G) or (2) a new Verizon Fios Home Internet or 5G Home Internet customer. According to Verizon’s dedicated landing page , you can claim only one subscription per account and must do so by June 1, 2020. All the standard sign-up restrictions apply here too: You must be 18 years or older to sign up, and you must live within the US.

Eligible subscribers can activate this subscription on their accounts once Disney+ launches on November 12. We don’t have details yet on where exactly this option will live, but you will need to sign in to your Verizon account to start your subscription. Verizon claims that it will be the exclusive wireless carrier offering this deal, so you are out of luck if your phone plan is with AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, or any other carrier. Other carriers have their own streaming freebies, however. For example, T-Mobile offers free Netflix with its Magenta plans-without the one-year limitation.

What Happens After the Year Ends?

Once the promotional period ends, your Disney+ subscription renews automatically at the regular $6.99-per-month rate if you don’t cancel it, except for New Mexico residents, whose subscriptions will simply end. If you enjoy the Disney+ service, you can lock in another annual subscription at a discount for $69.99 per year.

Think about the free year as an extended trial of sorts. If you find you’ve watched everything you wanted to see, then cancel your subscription. If not, just make sure to adjust your monthly spending habits to account for it. You should even consider just subscribing for the months in which Disney+ offers a new movie or show you want to watch or to binge through any on-demand content you may have missed. That’s one way to keep costs down and is good advice for anyone who subscribes to video streaming services.

Is Disney+ a Good Deal?

We haven’t reviewed Disney+ yet, but based on the massive catalog of confirmed content as well as impressive technical features, Disney+ appears to be an excellent value, even at full price. We don’t recommend signing up for a Verizon plan just for this Disney+ deal, however. After all, an annual subscription to Disney+ ($69.99) is roughly equivalent to just one month of the higher-end mobile and home internet plans. If you already pay less than that for your wireless or home internet service, it’s likely in your best interest to pay for Disney+ on your own.

Originally published at https://www.pcmag.com on November 5, 2019.