Disney’s password-sharing crackdown starts ‘in earnest’ this September
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge
Disney Plus will soon no longer let you share your password with people outside your household. During an earnings call on Wednesday, Disney CEO Bob Iger said the crackdown will kick off “in earnest” this September.
The timeline for Disney’s password-sharing crackdown has been a bit confusing so far. In February, Disney announced plans to roll out paid sharing and also began notifying users about the change. It then launched paid sharing in a “few countries” in June but provided no information on when it would reach the US.
But now, it seems like Disney is pretty serious about rolling out paid sharing to more subscribers in September — even though it still hasn’t shared details on how much it will cost. Netflix, which rolled out paid sharing last year, charges an extra $7.99 per month to add another person to your account. “We’ve had no backlash at all to the [paid sharing] notifications that have gone out and to the work that we’ve already been doing,” Iger says.
On top of the crackdown, Disney is raising prices across Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus starting in October. Iger says he’s “not concerned” about losing subscribers over the price increase since the company is also adding ABC News Live and curated playlists that give the company “pricing leverage.”
With Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus turning a profit for the first time this quarter, Disney is likely looking to maintain that profitability with price increases and paid sharing.
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge
Disney Plus will soon no longer let you share your password with people outside your household. During an earnings call on Wednesday, Disney CEO Bob Iger said the crackdown will kick off “in earnest” this September.
The timeline for Disney’s password-sharing crackdown has been a bit confusing so far. In February, Disney announced plans to roll out paid sharing and also began notifying users about the change. It then launched paid sharing in a “few countries” in June but provided no information on when it would reach the US.
But now, it seems like Disney is pretty serious about rolling out paid sharing to more subscribers in September — even though it still hasn’t shared details on how much it will cost. Netflix, which rolled out paid sharing last year, charges an extra $7.99 per month to add another person to your account. “We’ve had no backlash at all to the [paid sharing] notifications that have gone out and to the work that we’ve already been doing,” Iger says.
On top of the crackdown, Disney is raising prices across Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus starting in October. Iger says he’s “not concerned” about losing subscribers over the price increase since the company is also adding ABC News Live and curated playlists that give the company “pricing leverage.”
With Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus turning a profit for the first time this quarter, Disney is likely looking to maintain that profitability with price increases and paid sharing.