Disney is preparing to take action against subscribers who share their passwords with people outside of their household.
Since its launch in November 2020, Disney has quickly established itself as one of the Top 5 global streaming services, with content drawn from iconic entertainment brands, including Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic.
However, the price of fame is unlicensed viewing and in this week’s financial call chief executive officer Bob Iger confirmed Disney was stepping up action against password sharing.
Iger described the problem as “significant”, but added Disney was exploring ways to address account sharing and the best options to allow paying subscribers to share their accounts with friends and family.
“What we don’t know, of course, is as we get to work on this, how much of the password sharing as we basically eliminate it will convert to growth in subs. Obviously, we believe there will be some, but we’re not speculating,” he said.
As with Netflix, which began looking at how to reduce password sharing once it became clear subscriber levels were beginning to plateau, Disney sees the move as part of a broader strategy to improve its margins.
This includes the further rollout of its advertising supported tier that will debut in select markets across Europe and in Canada on November 1.
Subscriber agreements will be updated later this year “with additional terms on our sharing policies” ahead of further action in 2024.
