Disney’s first real foray into password sharing will launch in June starting with select markets before expanding to all subscribers in September, CEO Bob Iger has announced. The finer details of the plan are yet to be revealed, but if one was to take Netflix’s recent crackdown on “freeloaders” as a template, we can expect Disney Plus to start charging users an additional fee for logins outside of a dedicated household.
The groundwork started late last year when the company started sending out emails to Disney Plus subscribers in Canada, followed by the US, not unlike Netflix which started off on very similar lines. Its updated terms and conditions say Disney can —now — analyse the use of the account to determine “compliance.” What began as a simple notification when someone would login outside of the main subscriber’s household (Wi-Fi network) to grant permission for Netflix access soon turned into a $7.99 per month service per “extra” viewer. Something similar will be expected from Disney Plus as well.
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Iger touched upon a range of topics in an interview with CNBC including the Disney Plus-Hulu bundle launched recently as well as wider plans to also offer ESPN as a subscription service. The goal of all these moves, crackdown on password sharing included, is to turn streaming into a “growth business.” Going forward, subscribers will have two options — either buy individual subscriptions or pay extra in order to give access to “others.” More details should be announced closer to rollout.
It would be interesting to see if Disney is planning something similar for the India market as well. Currently, it offers four tiers starting with mobile which is Rs 149 for three months and Rs 499 for a year going up to Rs 1,499 a year for a premium subscription that lets you watch content at 4K on up to four devices without any ads. The mid-tier super plan is available with and without ads for Rs 899 and Rs 1,099 a year.
