Disney Starts Password-Sharing Crackdown with New Paid Sharing Program | Cord Cutters News
Disney is making waves by officially launching its “paid sharing program” in the U.S. and beyond this week, targeting password and account sharing head-on. After teasing this move during earnings calls, Disney+ users now have two options: add someone outside their household as an “Extra Member” for a monthly fee or transfer their profile and subscribe independently to retain their watch history. This change aims to generate additional revenue while offering flexibility for account-sharing users.
Users can add one Extra Member per account for $6.99 per month on Disney+ Basic or $9.99 for Premium. But there’s a catch: it’s only available if you’re not using the Disney Bundle. For those sharing an account, Disney offers the chance to smoothly transition into their own subscription without losing any personalized settings. The platform will monitor subscription activity, devices, and internet connections to identify households, prompting verification for users watching outside of their registered homes.
This shift aligns with Disney+’s upcoming price hikes and coincides with the release of major titles like “Agatha All Along” and “Inside Out 2,” hoping to soften the blow with enticing content. Disney’s move follows Netflix’s success in clamping down on password sharing last year, surprisingly leading to minimal cancellations. Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max is also planning a similar move soon.
With streaming competition heating up, platforms are looking for ways to maximize profits and ensure fairness in how their services are used. Disney’s strategy here is a delicate balancing act—maintaining user satisfaction while tightening the reins on account sharing. Whether this will lead to subscriber growth or backlash remains to be seen, but it signals a clear shift in how streaming services are approaching the future……….[read more]
Rising Dough
As Disney+ and other streaming giants roll out changes aimed at curbing account sharing, how might these efforts reshape the relationship between companies, consumers, and investors? Will the balance of price hikes and new content offerings be enough to keep users happy while satisfying shareholders’ growing expectations for revenue growth?
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