The House of Mouse is about to shrink the extended family room, as Disney+ will begin limiting password sharing beginning next year.
In a Q3 earnings call, CEO Bob Iger said that plans to stop excessive password sharing on Disney+ is already underway. “We are actively exploring ways to address account sharing and the best options for paying subscribers to share their accounts with friends and family. Later this year, we will begin to update our subscriber agreements with additional terms and our sharing policies. And we will roll out tactics to drive monetization sometime in 2024.”
Iger also noted that Disney+ sees a tremendous number of users sharing their passwords. “We already have the technical capability to monitor much of this…I’m not going to give a specific number, except to say that it is significant.”
Disney+ wouldn’t be the first major streaming service to initiate a plan to cut back on the sharing of passwords with those outside of your housemates. While most users would probably disagree with the move, Netflix reported this spring that their initiative saw a growth of more than 70,000 users over the course of just one week. If this holds true for Disney, the company could be looking to report higher revenue in 2024.
In addition to busting password leeches Disney+, it was announced that the streaming service will raise prices in October — something it has done before, with the Premium tier going up from $10.99 to $13.99. Hulu without ads will bump from $14.99 to $17.99, while both versions of Hulu + Live TV will also increase, with the most premium option hitting $89.99. And yes, ESPN+ with ads will also go up, although many may not be bothered by the extra dollar. As per Joe Earley, president of direct-to-consumer for Disney Entertainment, they will also “launch a new premium duo bundle of ad-free Disney+ and Hulu this fall, as we take steps toward making extensive Hulu content available via Disney+ later this year for bundle subscribers.”
Do you think Disney+ cracking down on password sharing will have a positive or negative impact on their revenue? How will it directly affect you? Let us know!