Disney+ Password Sharing Crackdown to Begin in June
By Movieguide® Contributor
Disney CEO Bob Iger has provided an update on Disney+’s initiative to eliminate password sharing.
“In June we’ll be launching our first real foray into password sharing,” he said during an interview with CNBC. It will begin in “just a few countries in a few markets, but then it will grow significantly with a full rollout in September.”
This change comes after Netflix added password-sharing restrictions to its accounts.
Forbes reported, “Like Netflix, the new Disney rules will let you add individuals outside your household for an additional fee instead of them ‘freeloading.’ The move comes as streaming services must claw and scrape to find new subscribers in a crowded market, in addition to footing bills for pricey content. Disney is no exception.”
Iger felt the pressure to add password restrictions after Netflix took action.
In a previous interview with CNBC, he said, “We are aiming to not only turn that business into a business that’s profitable, but to turn that business into a business that delivers margins that we feel good about, that we expect from all of our businesses,” he said.
“Netflix had an over 10-year head start on us. We launched Disney streaming just over four years ago. It’s still a nascent business in many respects, very successful when you look at the number of global subs that we signed up right away and then obviously since then. And, but when you think about Netflix and you think about what they have done on password sharing, which we’re going to get to later this year…it won’t impact us until 2025,” Iger added.
Movieguide® previously reported:
In its new terms of service, Disney revealed that it is now against its platform’s policy for subscribers to share password information with those living outside of the household.
“Later this calendar year, account holders who want to allow access to individuals from outside their household will be able to add them to their accounts for an additional fee,” said Disney’s CFO Hugh Johnson
“We are still in the early days and don’t expect notable benefits from these paid-sharing initiatives until the back half of calendar 2024, we want to reach as large an audience as possible with our outstanding content, and we’re looking forward to rolling out this new functionality to improve the overall customer experience and grow our subscriber base,” Johnson added.
Disney first began pursuing a crackdown on password sharing after Netflix announced it would do the same last year. Netflix has since implemented a policy limiting the use of its platform to those living within the same household – as Disney will now do.
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