Disney will begin seriously cracking down on password sharing for its Disney+ streaming service starting in September. The timeline was revealed by Disney CEO Bob Iger on Wednesday’s Disney earnings call (via The Verge).
Iger said Disney will begin cracking down on password sharing on the service “in earnest” next month. While Disney has been saying it would get rid of password sharing since last September, the company has been slow to start cracking down. Disney did begin banning password sharing in some regions back in June, and now it sounds like the crackdown will expand to the US and other countries in September.
According to Iger, Disney wants to end password sharing to turn Disney+ into a growth business. He mentioned Netflix’s success in cracking down on password sharing in 2023, as it then saw strong subscriber growth in the quarters following the crackdown. In April, Iger called the company the “gold standard in streaming.”
“I actually have very, very high regard for what they’ve accomplished,” said Iger. “If we can only accomplish what they’ve accomplished, that would be great.” As for customers who have already been told they can’t share their passwords anymore, Iger said that the company has had “no backlash at all.”
Disney is planning to mirror Netflix’s allowing subscribers to pay extra to share their plans with someone outside of their household, but pricing has not yet been announced.
Disney earlier this week announced it would increase prices for its Hulu, ESPN+, and Disney+ streaming services. Prices will increase for both ad-supported and ad-free plans and bundle subscribers will also pay more for some bundles. Subscribers can expect to pay $1 to $2 more per month.
