The move will likely prove good for Disney's bottom line. But not so good for consumers' pockets.
Disney+ is the latest streaming service to say that it’s going to crack down on password sharing in an attempt to boost subscriber numbers and increase revenue.
It follows a similar move by Netflix last year, which although controversial at first, has proven to be a success for the company with over 6 million new subscribers signing up after the new password sharing rules came into effect.
The head of Disney, Bob Iger, has said that the company will start clamping down on password sharing in some countries from June with a rollout to all remaining countries in September.
Traditionally Ireland hasn’t been at the forefront of new developments from any of the streaming services so it’s probably more likely that Irish subscribers will be impacted come September.
The move comes as streaming services slug it out to remain profitable and win the battle of the streaming wars.
Although Disney+ has been hugely successful in terms of signing up subscribers since it launched only a few years ago, it’s yet to turn a profit. The sheer cost of having to produce so much content means the company has lost hundreds of millions of dollars since it began operations so it's been looking for ways to boost revenue.
Around a year ago it stopped offering a free trial period and it's increased the price of a subscription from €6.99 a month upon launch in 2020 to €10.99 a month today. And it's hoping that its clampdown on password sharing will boost revenue even more.
How will the new rules work?
At the moment a typical Disney+ subscription allows you to stream on up to four devices simultaneously, which is pretty generous.
This is unlikely to change.
But at the moment there’s nothing to stop you sharing your Disney+ password with a friend or relative who lives outside your home. Disney’s clampdown will try to put a stop to this.
At this stage it’s not known how the clampdown will work. Indeed Disney may choose to keep this secret. As by hiding its precise methods for detecting password sharing, it will make it more difficult for people to try to circumvent the rules.
But if you’re currently piggybacking off someone else’s password be prepared to cough up for a subscription later in the year.
At the moment a Disney+ subscription costs €10.99 a month. However you may not have to pay the full whack.
When Netflix clamped down on password sharing it offered account holders the option of adding an extra member or 'sub-account' for a smaller fee, which is currently €4.99 a month in Ireland.
The extra members have their own account and password, but the extra membership fee is paid by the account holder. So Disney+ might do something similar.
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