Disney+ intends to strengthen its fight against account sharing at the start of 2024. According to information sent to investors, the platform will adopt an approach similar to that of Netflix. Explanations.
As you may know, Disney+ announced in November 2023 that it planned to crack down on users who share their accounts with people who do not live under the same roof. But for the moment, the contours of this measure still remain unclear.
However, we have just learned that Disney is preparing to launch a new wave of crackdowns against account sharing starting March 14. This time, the big-eared firm will target American users (the first salvo concerned Canadian customers in November 2023). According to Hugh Johnston, CFO of the company, any user “suspected of inappropriate sharing” will have the opportunity to subscribe to their own Disney Plus subscription.
Disney will charge for adding additional users like Netflix
Furthermore, and similar to what Netflix offers in its account sharing policy, account owners will be able to add people outside their household upon payment of additional fees. As a reminder, Netflix charges each additional €5.99 per month currently (up to two maximum).
Unfortunately, the Disney executive was careful not to give more details on the price asked to add other users to its account. Furthermore, we still don’t know if this new policy will apply everywhere or if its deployment will be done gradually in different regions of the world.
A mercantile measure above all
According to Hugh Johnston, this measure will “to improve the overall customer experience and increase the subscriber base”. Well, let’s put aside the official speech for a few moments to put the Church back in the middle of the village. Of course, the motivations behind this policy are above all financial. As we know, the end of account sharing on Netflix resulted in a significant increase in the number of subscribers. In fact, between May 21, 2023 and June 18, 2023, the number of users increased by 236%!
Netflix then capitalized on this success by launching its formula with advertising. Perceived as a low-cost entry point by many users, this offer quickly won over. As proof, the service gained almost 9 million additional subscribers thanks to it in the last quarter of 2023. No surprise to see Disney embarking on the same path. But be careful, things could turn out differently for the American giant. As we mentioned in our columns this February 8, Disney+ lost one million subscribers by the end of 2023 after the recent price increase.