Disney+ has kicked off a new “Paid Sharing” program in multiple countries around the globe, including the United States, Canada, and parts of Europe. The move was announced earlier this year by Disney CEO Bob Iger on a Disney earnings call, as the House of the Mouse looks to boost both revenue and subscriber growth for its streaming service.
Following Netflix’s lead, the new “sharing” program restricts usage of the account to a single household. In case you’re wondering how Disney+ defines a “household,” it is “a collection of devices associated with your primary personal residence that are used by the individuals who reside there.”
Users who wish to continue to share their account with viewers outside their household, can take advantage of theDisney+ “Extra Member” add-on feature. In the US, the option adds an additional $6.99 per month to a Disney+ Basic subscription and adds an extra $9.99 per month for Disney+ Premium subscriptions. In the UK, pricing has been set at an extra £3.99, £4.99, and £4.99 per month for Standard with Ads, Standard, and Premium plans, respectively.
There are some limitations in the “paid sharing” program but isn’t there always? Account holders can only add one extra member, who must be 18 or older and reside in the same country, and the added member can only stream to one device at a time. Because the Mouse needs that cheese.
Disney+ is being nice enough to still allow account holders to access the service when away from home, although users will need to verify their identity via a one-time passcode sent to the account’s designated email address. Users can transfer eligible profiles to a new subscription, while still retaining their watch history and settings.
Disney’s plan mirrors Netflix’s similar restrictions, announced in 2023, allowing subscribers to pay extra to share their plans with someone outside of their household. When Iger announced the program, he said 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.
The full rollout of the password sharing crackdown across the US, Canada, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region is expected to be completed by the end of the month.
