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How to stream Beyoncé's Black Is King on Disney Plus for free or at a discount

If you've got Verizon Unlimited, Fios and 5G Home, you can get a free year of Disney Plus. US Mobile customers are also eligible. Here are the best options for getting Disney's streaming service on the cheap.

Dale Smith Former Associate Writer
Dale Smith is a former Associate Writer on the How-To team at CNET.
Alison DeNisco Rayome Managing Editor
Managing Editor Alison DeNisco Rayome joined CNET in 2019, and is a member of the Home team. She is a co-lead of the CNET Tips and We Do the Math series, and manages the Home Tips series, testing out new hacks for cooking, cleaning and tinkering with all of the gadgets and appliances in your house. Alison was previously an editor at TechRepublic.
Expertise Home Tips, including cooking, cleaning and appliances hacks Credentials
  • National Silver Azbee Award for Impact/Investigative Journalism; National Gold Azbee Award for Online Single Topic Coverage by a Team; National Bronze Azbee Award for Web Feature Series
Dale Smith
Alison DeNisco Rayome
5 min read
disney-plus-3715

Disney Plus includes most of Disney's theatrically released movies, plus every episode of The Simpsons, new Star Wars TV shows and more.

Angela Lang/CNET

Disney Plus, the popular new streaming service from Disney, is giving Netflix a run for its money. The filmed version of the Broadway smash hit Hamilton streamed exclusively on Disney Plus earlier in July, and on Friday, Beyoncé's visual album Black Is King started streaming exclusively on the platform, too. The new visual album, a companion to her Lion King-inspired album The Gift, celebrates Black excellence and Black culture. 

Unfortunately, Disney Plus no longer offers a seven-day free trial for new subscribers. But if you've been slow to sign up, don't worry -- you can still take advantage of free trials from US Mobile and Verizon, or other bundle deals. 

US Mobile is offering a free Disney Plus subcription to customers with three or more lines of service as part of a package deal that includes other free subscriptions to various entertainment services, including Netflix, Apple TV Plus and Spotify. And new and existing Verizon Unlimited, Fios or 5G Home plan subscribers can still get a free year of Disney Plus.  

Disney Plus , which launched Nov. 12, costs $7 a month or $70 a year to subscribe. (Only available in the US, Canada and the Netherlands for now, Disney Plus launches in more countries next year.) The platform is home to  Disney's films, including the Star Wars, Marvel and Pixar franchises. Disney also has a slate of original shows and movies to stream, including the Star Wars spinoff The Mandalorian and another potential film in the works featuring Ewan McGregor reprising his role as the younger Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Here's how to save some money with a Disney Plus subscription.

Watch this: What's new to stream for July 2020

How to get in on the Verizon deal 

If you're already a Verizon Unlimited customer:

1. Head to Verizon's Disney Plus sign up page and click or tap Get Started
2. Under the heading Already have Unlimited? click or tap Get Disney+, then sign in with your username and password.
3. On the next page, beneath 1st year on us $6.99/month after, click or tap the Get Disney+ button.
4. Check the box to accept Terms and Conditions then click or tap the Enroll in Disney+ button.

If you're a Verizon wireless customer but aren't enrolled in a qualifying Unlimited plan:

1. Head to Verizon's Disney Plus sign-up page and click or tap Get Started
2. Under the heading Change your plan to Unlimited? click or tap Change your plan, then sign in with your username or password.
3. Switch to one of Verizon's Unlimited wireless plans, then head back to Verizon's Disney Plus sign-up page to enroll in Disney Plus.

If you're not a Verizon wireless or Fios customer but would like to sign up for a qualifying plan:

1. Head to Verizon's Disney Plus sign-up page and click or tap Get Started
2. Under the heading Switch to Verizon, click or tap Switch to Unlimited, or under the heading Switch to Fios home internet click or tap Switch to Fios, then follow the instructions for starting a new service.
3. Once you've signed up, head back to Verizon's Disney Plus sign-up page to enroll in Disney Plus.

Verizon offers five eligible Unlimited wireless plans, ranging in price from $35 per line (with a minimum four lines) to $90 for a single line. Verizon also has three Fios Home Internet plans ranging from $40 to $80, depending on data allowance and availability.

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Beyoncé's new visual album Black is King will stream exclusively on Disney Plus.

Getty/Gareth Cattermole

Stack the Verizon offer with other deals

If you've already taken advantage of another offer, like the three-years-for-the-price-of-two deal Disney Plus offered earlier this year, you can still get a free year as a Verizon customer. Just sign up for the free year of Disney Plus through the Verizon website as you normally would. 

When you're redirected to the Disney Plus website, sign in with the username you used when you bought your subscription and Disney Plus will apply the free year to your account. That means you could get as many as four years for the price of two, depending on the package you already purchased. Note that the Verizon deal will count toward your first year and your purchased package for the remainder. 

How to get in on the US Mobile deal

US Mobile offers a bundle of "perks" to customers who sign up for multiple lines. With two lines of service, customers are eligible to select from a free subscription to either Apple TV Plus, Pandora Plus or Slacker Plus LiveXLive. With three lines of service, customers can choose one option from that list and one of either a Disney Plus-Hulu-ESPN Plus bundle, Netflix, Audible, Spotify Family or Apple Music Family subscription. Add a total of four lines and you can add yet another free service on top of those two, choosing from either Xbox Live Gold or PlayStation Plus.

The US Mobile deal is a bit different, in that you subscribe to the aforementioned services and US Mobile deducts the cost of those subscriptions from your cellular bill, so you pay for everything separately. 

To sign up for the US Mobile deal, head to the landing page on US Mobile's website and select the Get Started button at the top of the page.

How else to save money on Disney Plus

At $7 a month, Disney Plus is already priced between the $5 a month Apple TV Plus service, and Netflix's $9-a-month basic tier. To sweeten the deal, Disney is bundling Disney Plus with Hulu (with ads) and ESPN Plus and offering a $5 discount if you subscribe to all three of its streaming options, totaling $13 a month. Disney has hinted it may consider raising the price of Disney Plus in the future as the service expands and picks up more movies and shows.

Disney Plus subscribers are also eligible for a one-week free trial followed by three months of Starz for $5 per month, after which the price increases to $9 per month. To take advantage of this deal, all you have to do is accept the offer when it's presented to you during your Disney Plus enrollment.

For more, check out how Disney Plus compares to other streaming services, and how to cancel your Disney Plus subscription