Hulu Will Allow Political Issue Ads After All, Disney Says After Democrats Slam Policy

Topline

Hulu will now air political ads about issues like abortion and gun control, parent company Disney said Wednesday, reversing a previous policy that prohibited ads dealing with “sensitive” political topics after Democratic groups and candidates expressed outrage that the streaming service was rejecting their ads and calls grew to boycott the company.

Key Facts

Hulu will now accept political ads from both political groups and candidates “covering a wide spectrum of policy positions,” Disney said in a statement to Forbes, though it still “reserves the right to request edits or alternative creative” based on “industry standards.”

The streaming platform’s standards will now be in line with Disney’s cable networks and ESPN+, which have accepted political ads in the past that Hulu has rejected.

The policy change, which was first reported by Axios, was made after a “thorough review” of the company’s ad policies, Disney said.

Hulu’s previous ad policy stated the company would review political ads individually on a case-by-case basis, and “reserves the right to review, approve, reject, and refuse to display, or remove any and all advertising,” including based on the content of the ads.

The change came after Democratic fundraising groups slammed Disney in a statement on Monday after Hulu declined to air ads that focused on abortion and gun laws, saying the streaming service’s censorship of their ads was “outrageous, offensive, and another step down a dangerous path for our country.”

Congressional candidate Suraj Patel had also objected to Hulu rejecting a campaign ad that used the phrase “from abortion rights and gun laws to climate change” and showed footage of January 6, sending a letter to Disney that argued not mentioning those topics “is to not address the most important issues facing the United States.”

What To Watch For

Democratic fundraising groups have “re-submitted our advertisements to verify Hulu has changed their policies and will continue to engage with them until we receive confirmation that advertisements on these issue areas are allowed to run,” a national Democratic party official told Forbes on behalf of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Democratic Governors Association.

Key Background

Broadcast television networks are prohibited from censoring ads from political candidates under the Communications Act of 1934, which requires them to also air ads from both parties, but digital platforms like Hulu aren’t covered by the law, leaving them free to censor ads if they choose. Hulu had objected to Patel’s use of “sensitive” issues in his campaign ad, a campaign source told Jezebel, and the candidate’s ad was later accepted after he replaced “climate change” with “democracy” and got rid of the January 6 footage. In addition to Patel, Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-Ga.) also had an abortion-related ad censored by Hulu in May. The Democratic fundraising groups submitted two ads to Hulu on July 15, as well as to Disney-owned ESPN, a Philadelphia ABC affiliate, Facebook, YouTube, Roku and NBC/Universal, according to a national Democratic party official. While the ads aired on every other network and platform, they did not air on Hulu, and the Democratic official reported Hulu gave little explanation as to why, saying only the issue was “content related.” The controversy over the ad rejections led to calls for users to boycott the company and cancel their Hulu subscriptions, with Christina Reynolds, vice president of communications for grassroots organization Emily’s List, saying on Twitter the company was “picking the wrong side here by banning ads that talk about reproductive rights.”

Tangent

The controversy over Hulu’s ad policy marks the second time Disney has come under fire for sidestepping politics in recent months, after the media giant was previously criticized on the left—and by its own employees—for declining to take a stance on the Florida legislation known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law. Disney CEO Bob Chapek reportedly wanted to keep the company out of politics, but the company eventually caved to the pressure and publicly came out against the bill in March. That drew Republicans’ ire, leading to the Florida legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) dissolving the special tax district that covers Walt Disney World in April.

Further Reading

Democratic Groups Blast Hulu For Rejecting Campaign Ads As Disney Comes Under Fire For Avoiding Politics — Again (Forbes)

Exclusive: Hulu to begin accepting political issue ads (Axios)

Hulu Rejects Campaign Ads as Politics Collide With Streaming TV (Bloomberg)