If you’re watching shows and films on Disney+ with someone else’s login …you’ve only got a few weeks left until your access is cut off. That US company has confirmed plans to step up efforts to quash the practice of sharing a password with people outside of your household, like friends, long-distance partners, or family members.
Disney+ first hinted at plans to follow in Netflix’s footsteps with a password-sharing crackdown at the beginning of the year, before revealing more details about the incoming cost of paid sharing at the start of summer. Now, Disney CEO Bob Iger has confirmed that the crackdown will start “in earnest” this September.
Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger explained the incoming changes for subscribers during an earnings call
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Starting next month, Disney+ will block subscribers from sharing their login details with anyone outside of their home in a bid to drive up the number of paid users and boost its bottom line. Netflix pioneered this approach, adding 8.8 million users to its streaming service in just three months after it implemented similar measures.
To block Disney+ subscribers from sharing their login details, Disney has already confirmed that it’ll incorporate new technology that identifies when someone outside of your household is trying to watch on your account.
Despite the crackdown due to begin soon, Disney executive Bob Iger still hasn’t revealed how much it’ll cost to allow an additional viewer to stream from outside of your household. For comparison, Netflix charges £4.99 a month — the same cost for an ad-supported subscription — to share your account with one additional person. This lets them watch from another location and download content to watch offline on phone and tablet apps.
This feature is only available on the £10.99 Standard and £17.99 Premium tiers.
It’s unclear whether Disney+ will target a similar price point, but Bob Iger has praised Netflix’s implementation of paid password-sharing as “the gold standard”.
In an interview with US network CNBC earlier this summer, the Disney CEO said: “They’ve done a phenomenal job and a lot of different directions. I actually have very, very high regard for what they’ve accomplished. If we can only accomplish what they’ve accomplished, that would be great.”
And the long-trailed plan to clamp down on password-sharing isn’t the only major shake-up coming to Disney+ later this year. Disney boss Bob Iger confirmed that the second price hike in 12 months would be coming to subscribers across the United States of America.
Disney+ is available on a dizzying number of devices, including Smart TVs, iPad, iPhone, Android phones and tablets, Windows and Mac, to name a few
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Starting in October, Disney will increase prices across all of its major streaming services, including Disney+, Hulu — which isn’t available in the UK or mainland Europe, and ESPN+.
Speaking to shareholders during the most recent earnings call, Iger reassured investors that he’s “not concerned” about losing subscribers over the price hike as it plans to add new features like curated playlists and live broadcasts from ABC News.
Describing how these playlists will work, Disney+ President, Alisa Bowen said: “Playlists are the latest example of how we’re providing the best value and experience for our subscribers every time they open Disney+. Whether it’s news, kids’ content, popular genres, hit TV shows or blockbuster films, there will be something for everyone in a lean-back viewing experience based on seasonality and interest.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney+ will increase its Standard with Ads plan by $2 — taking it from $7.99 to $9.99. That same plan currently costs £4.99 in the UK, so it’s unclear what the damage would be. The Standard and Premium plans will also increase by the same $2 amount in the US when the price rise is implemented on October 17, the publication reports.
It would be the second increase within the last year.
The so-called Disney Bundle, which includes Disney+ and Hulu together for a single subscription price, will purportedly increase by $1 up to $10.99 a month. Disney hasn’t confirmed whether the price increase to Disney+ will be coming to other regions, like the UK and mainland Europe.
To enable these incoming changes, Disney+ quietly updated its small print to explicitly ban users from sharing a single subscription with people outside of their household. The new terms of service started to apply to new subscribers on January 25, but didn’t apply to existing subscribers until March 14, 2024.
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With both of these deadlines in the rearview mirror, Disney+ is now free to clamp down on password-sharing for its paid subscribers worldwide.
If the plans to crackdown on password-sharing found familiar, it’s likely because Netflix pursued a very similar policy — to enormous financial success — with its subscribers last year. The US company now requires all subscribers to set up a Netflix Household. This serves as a primary location, linked to your household broadband connection, for any devices signed in with your account information.
While you’re still allowed to travel with mobile devices, like an iPhone or Android phone, any other Smart TVs, streaming dongles, or Sky and Freeview set-top boxes will warn that you’re outside of your Netflix Household and prompt you to change the associated location …or add an extra paid member to your subscription at the rate of £4.99 a month per person.
If you haven’t manually set a Netflix Household for your account, it will be set automatically based on the location where you most frequently stream from the video on-demand service.
Last year, Disney+ overhauled its offering in the UK, replacing the previous one-subscription-fits-all approach with three different price tiers.
As part of the shake-up, it introduced a new ad-supported plan that allows viewers to access the streaming platform’s content for a cheaper price of £4.99 compared with its ad-free plans.
Subscribers to the new tier will be able to have two streams playing at the same time but they will not be able to download TV series, documentaries, and films to watch offline on devices.
The more expensive ad-free tiers include the standard package at £7.99, or £79.90 annually, which has the same video and audio quality as the lower level but allows for downloads on up to 10 devices, while the premium model at £10.99, or £109.90, has improved video and audio quality and allows four devices to watch concurrently.
Disney+ exclusively hosts series including The Bear, Welcome To Wrexham, and Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story. It also launched a new series following the Kardashian-Jenner family last year, titled The Kardashians, which follows on from its predecessor, Keeping Up WithThe Kardashians, in documenting the personal lives and business ventures of the siblings.
Of course, the Netflix rival is also home to the animated classics that are most associated with the Walt Disney brand, including The Lion King, The Jungle Book, Cinderella, Frozen, and Encanto.