Disney Plus Joins the Crackdown: Password Sharing to End in September

Disney Plus is the latest streaming giant to tighten its grip on account sharing. The platform will start restricting password sharing outside of primary households in September, following in the footsteps of Netflix.

The move comes as Disney’s streaming business, which includes Disney Plus, ESPN Plus, and Hulu, has finally turned a profit, raking in USD47 million in Q3. This financial success likely played a role in the company’s decision to crack down on password sharing.

While Disney initially hinted at paid sharing plans in February, the company has been inconsistent in its approach. Although paid sharing has been introduced in some countries, details about the US rollout have remained scarce until now.

With the upcoming crackdown, it’s expected that US customers will soon be able to subscribe to a paid sharing plan. Although the exact pricing hasn’t been revealed, it’s likely to mirror Netflix’s model, which charges an extra USD7.99 per additional user.

In addition to the password sharing restrictions, Disney is also increasing subscription prices for Disney Plus, ESPN Plus, and Hulu. The price hikes will take effect in October. Disney CEO Bob Iger remains optimistic about subscriber retention. He cites the addition of curated playlists as a positive factor. He also highlights ABC News Live as a value-added feature.

While this seems to only affect US customers as of right now, I do believe this will reach us sooner or later. We’ve already seen a price increase here in Malaysia, so the crackdown might not be too far behind.

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