Following Netflix’s Lead, Disney Says it Will Crack Down On Password Sharing

Disney is preparing to crack down on password sharing on streaming services, following a similar move from Netflix that kicked off a few months ago.

The company’s CEO Bob Iger said that password sharing among Disney Plus has been “significant,” and as such it is “actively exploring” methods to control it.

“We already have the technical capability to monitor much of this password sharing, and I’m not going to give you a specific number, expect to say that it’s significant. What we don’t know, of course, is as we got to work on this, how much of the password sharing as we basically eliminate it will convert to growth in subs. Obviously, we believe there will be some, but we’re not speculating,” he said during the company’s Q2 2023 earnings.

The move comes as Disney and its peers have looked for ways to make streaming profitable-methods that have included cutting content spending, introducing cheaper, ad-supported options and preventing account sharing. Disney follows the lead of Netflix which began rolling out a new account sharing policy earlier this year.

Netflix started testing password sharing restrictions in selected countries last year and expanded the program to regions like Canada, New Zealand, Portugal, and Spain earlier this year. In May, the Streaming company started asking people to stop sharing accounts outside their households and pay for additional accounts globally.

Streaming companies are in a tough spot as they battle stagnant subscriber growth and tough economic conditions. The major players are looking at both price-hikes and strategies, like restrictions on password sharing and introducing a cheaper ad- supported tier to attract more subscribers.