Comment Disney-backed streaming service Hulu said Wednesday it will begin accepting political ads under the same standards the company uses for its cable networks, opening the door for issue ads on controversial topics after Democratic groups attacked the company. for rejecting abortion and gun ads. . In a statement, Hulu said that “after a thorough review,” Disney decided to align Hulu’s political ad policies to be consistent with the company’s sports and entertainment cable networks and ESPN Plus streaming service. “Hulu will now accept nominations and issue advertisements covering a wide range of policy positions, but reserves the right to request amendments” or other changes, “in line with industry standards,” the statement said. The statement did not specifically mention gun or abortion ads, but such ads have previously aired on other Disney-owned cable networks, such as ESPN. Democrats, angered by the rejection of two ads this month, mounted a public pressure campaign on social media this week, asking supporters to denounce Hulu’s policy. The protests were a top trending topic Tuesday on Twitter, with several accounts publicly announcing that they planned to cancel their service unless Hulu changed its policy. Mosaic Communications, a Democratic advertising agency, announced in a press release Tuesday that it will stop buying prospective ads with Hulu until the policy is changed. Julie Norton, a partner at the firm, said Wednesday’s announcement appeared to address her concerns. “It looks like they’re trying to do the right thing at this point,” he said. “We certainly applaud them for moving in the right direction.” The Washington Post reported Monday that Hulu has a policy against showing content it deems controversial. Like other digital providers, it is not bound by the Communications Act of 1934, a law that requires broadcast television networks to give politicians equal access to the airwaves. Hulu has changed its approach to candidate advertising in recent weeks, following a similar backlash from Democratic contenders. New York congressional candidate Suraj Patel publicly protested the rejection of one of his ads, which addressed gun violence, abortion and climate change and showed images of the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol USA. Hulu, which had a more lenient policy on ads for candidates than issues, initially allowed him to run the ad after replacing a reference to climate change and removing images of violence outside the Capitol. Then on Monday, after The Post’s article was published, Hulu told its campaign that the version of the ad the company initially rejected would be allowed to run. A person familiar with the decision at Hulu, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record, said Hulu had decided to accept the once-rejected ad before Monday but had not shared it with Patel. The Democratic Senate Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Governors Association tried to buy joint ads on abortion and guns with Hulu on July 15, along with identical placements on a Disney-affiliated ABC affiliate in Philadelphia and on the company’s ESPN cable sports channel. The Hulu ads never ran, while the others did. “Hulu’s censorship of the truth is outrageous, offensive and another step down a dangerous path for our country,” the executive directors of the three commissions — Christie Roberts, Tim Persico and Noam Lee — said in a statement provided to The Post on Monday. . “Voters have a right to know the facts about the Republican MAGA agenda on issues like abortion — and Hulu is doing a tremendous disservice to the American people by preventing voters from learning the truth about the GOP’s record or refusing to discuss these issues. issues. “ Tracking firm Kantar Media predicts $7.8 billion will be spent on political advertising for the 2022 midterm election period, with about $1.2 billion going to hyper and connected TV spending, a category that includes ads delivered through services streaming and set top boxes like Roku. Flow spending, according to Kantar, is “the new favorite of the political set.” However, streaming services have proven more difficult to negotiate for political buyers. Disney told advertisers that political ads and alcohol ads will not be accepted on Disney Plus, a separate streaming service, when an ad-supported version is launched later this year. Netflix announced this month that it is developing an ad-supported version with Microsoft, though the company has not clarified its advertising policies.
