New Delhi, July 11 -- no titles, no launch timeline, no advertising model was named. What the comment signaled was harder to set aside. The company that built its streaming service on premium subscription pricing is now openly weighing whether to compete on the same ground as the platforms it has spent years trying to separate itself from.

Adam Smith, Disney's CPO, mentioned the free-tier possibility at Thursday's gathering, Business Insider reported. What would be available without a subscription, what advertising framework would support it, and whether the service would feature current library titles or older and lower-demand content were not disclosed. Disney has not commented publicly. What Thursday's town hall established is that th...