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Credit: DisneyGet ready to have Disney+ changed forever, starting tomorrow, March 14, 2024.
One popular change that many streaming platforms have been implementing in hopes of making more money and gaining more subscribers is to place a restriction on password sharing. For a long time, friends and families have been sharing their Disney+ password with others, so that the price of the monthly fee could either be split by a group, or just avoided by some who were lucky enough to get the login sent to them.
We first saw Netflix change their terms, banning password sharing unless you were willing to pay an extra fee each month (which would be automatically added to your bill), and then, Disney CEO Bob Iger would confirm that the change was coming to Disney+ as well.
Disney+ not only has the classic Disney films we know and love like Snow White, Peter Pan, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Cinderella, Tangled, Frozen, Encanto, Coco, and more — but it is also home to multiple Marvel and Star Wars shows like Loki, WandaVision, Hawkeye, The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and more. With so many titles, Disney+ has anchored its way to the top of the charts when it comes to subscriber numbers.
Disney+ holds a total of around 150 million subscribers, per Variety, and that number is about to jump up.
Tomorrow, The Era’s Tour (Taylor’s Version) will go live on Disney+, and with the millions of Swifties who will want to check out this all-new cut of the film. Disney+ unveiled a trailer on March 4, revealing that “Maroon” would be included in the “surprise songs” segment of her set.
As the Eras Tour film captured Swift’s performances over three nights at L.A.’s SoFi Stadium, it was anticipated that the other bonus tracks would feature the three remaining acoustic “surprise songs” she sang: “Death by a Thousand Cuts,” “You Are in Love,” and “I Can See You.” This will make the film not only different from many of her live concerts but also will provide songs that were not on the theatrical release of the film.
Knowing that Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour pulled in $261.7 million at the global box office after its October 13 debut, making it the highest-grossing concert film to date, it was clear to Disney that there would be a lot of fans tuning into the film on March 14, making it the perfect day to see a return on the film rights, as the password ban will force users to purchase Disney+ if they do not already have it.
At present, unlike Netflix, there is no option to pay an additional fee to share passwords on Disney+. Such actions are strictly prohibited, and if Disney+ detects any violation of these rules, they reserve the right to restrict or cancel your subscription. Hulu will also be enacting the same policy tomorrow, in addition to Disney+.
In the final quarter of 2023, Disney+ experienced a net loss of 1.3 million subscribers in its “core” markets, excluding Disney+ Hotstar. This decline was primarily attributed to the price increases implemented during that period. For the current quarter ending in March, Disney anticipates adding between 5.5 million and 6 million subscribers to its “Disney+ Core” platform with the new password rulings.
According to the updated subscriber agreements for Disney+ and Hulu, “Unless otherwise permitted by your Service Tier, you may not share your subscription outside of your household.” The term “household” means the collection of devices “associated with your primary personal residence that is used by the individuals who reside therein,” according to the agreements.
“We may, in our sole discretion, analyze the use of your account to determine compliance with this Agreement,” the updated terms say. “If we determine, in our sole discretion, that you have violated this Agreement, we may limit or terminate access to the Service and/or take any other steps as permitted by this Agreement.”
What do you think about Disney’s new rules for Disney+ and password sharing?