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The US Sun
Disney Plus vows to follow in Netflix’s footsteps as it cracks down on password sharing – fans say ‘I’m canceling’
By Mackenzie Tatananni,
2024-08-07
DISNEY Plus has pledged to crack down on password sharing, following in the footsteps of one of its biggest competitors.
The streamer vowed to roll out paid sharing in February, but it appears to be coming sooner than viewers initially thought.
Disney CEO Bob Iger announced today that the crackdown will begin “in earnest” this September.
The news comes as the company reveals its streaming services have finally turned a profit.
Disney reported earning $47 million off Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus in its Q3 earnings results.
The development comes after years of strife. At the same time last year, the services suffered a combined $512 million loss.
And just last quarter, Disney Plus and Hulu raked in earnings while ESPN Plus stumbled, preventing Disney from crossing out of the red.
It appears conditions are improving for the first time, and the emboldened company is trying to further maximize profits by forcing users to sign up for accounts.
Disney Plus is not the first streaming service to implement paid sharing.
Netflix rolled out a similar model last year, charging users an extra $7.99 per month to add another watcher to their accounts.
In Wednesday's earnings call, Iger claimed the company had faced "no backlash at all" in response to notifications about the upcoming changes.
However, Disney has also revealed its intentions to hike subscription prices across all three streaming services in October.
Fees will jump by as much as 25% depending on the service and plan.
Iger said the company is "not concerned" about shedding viewers - but tons have already vowed to leave the platform en masse.
"I'm canceling," one Reddit user proclaimed. "Disney+ has too little new content that comes to it to justify the cost."
"Well, there goes my subscription," another wrote. "Only reason I have Disney+ is to share it with friends who otherwise couldn't afford it."
Several users suggested other ways to access to content while saving money.
"Time to buy more physical media," one Redditor wrote.
"You can actually get some solid deals on cable these days," another user remarked.
"If I actually watched more live TV I’d likely go back to cable…and that’s something I never thought I’d say."
One phrase repeatedly cropped up: "Vote with your wallet."
"Vote with your wallet. Cancel now," one user wrote. "Not like there is anything good on Disney/Hulu anyway."
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