Google is hoping to juice holiday sales of Chromebooks by tacking on a subscription to the hot new streaming service, Disney+. The company on Monday announced it would give Chromebook buyers three, free months of Disney+ with the purchase of new devices.
Specifically, the deal is valid for Chromebooks bought between November 25, 2019 and January 21, 2020, or while supplies last. And the free streaming offer has to be redeemed by January 31, 2020, Google tells us.
Customers will need to redeem the offer by way of the Chromebooks Offers Site, where they'll receive a promo code. After downloading the Disney+ app from the Play Store on their Chromebook, users will then create an account, accept the Disney+ Subscriber Agreement, then click "Redeem Code" at checkout.
Note that you're agreeing to an ongoing subscription here -- if you only want the three, free months, you'll need to cancel before the subscription auto-renews.
The promotion isn't just a nice perk for Chromebook owners, however.
Marketing partnerships like this are helping Disney quickly get its new streaming service into customers' hands. And giveaway deals like this also helps consumers to get over their initial hesitation about adding on yet another subscription to their monthly expenses. For now, it's free. And Disney, of course, hopes you'll forget to cancel later on and start paying -- or see the value in the subscription after the free period ends.
This isn't the first big promo for Disney+ following its debut. Disney already partnered with (TechCrunch parent) Verizon on a broader deal, which gave new and existing Verizon Wireless customers on unlimited plans a full year of Disney+ for free.
These partnerships are already paying off.
Disney said it signed up 10 million customers for Disney+ within the first day of its broad international launch. That's more than other streamers -- including CBS All Access + Showtime, ESPN+, HBO NOW, and others -- have signed up in their entirety, noted CNBC at the time.
According to new figures from Apptopia, the Disney+ app has been downloaded 15.5 million times since its launch earlier this month -- meaning it's been averaging around 1 million sign-ups per day. The firm estimated it had generated $5 million through in-app purchases, after app store fees are paid. A separate analysis from Sensor Tower puts figures much higher -- 19.8 million installs, and $24.2 million on in-app purchases during the same period.
Google is selling a wide range of Chromebooks on its site ahead of the holidays, starting with sub-$200 basic models, all the way up to its high-end Pixelbook at $999. It's worth noting that only new Chromebooks qualify for the Disney+ deal -- if you're picking up a refurb or buying used from an online classified ad, you're out of luck.
Disney+ is $6.99 per month when the promo ends.
