After Netflix, it’s Disney+’s turn to ban free account sharing using strong dissuasive measures. Like its competitor, the platform will offer a paid option, the amount of which it has just revealed.
It was only a matter of time, but this time it’s here: Disney++ is ending free account sharing! Last summer, the family entertainment giant clearly expressed its wish to fight against this practice, while American subscribers received emails in September 2023 notifying them of changes made to the user contract for its streaming platform, which includes “restrictions on account sharing” . French subscribers only had the right to this last July, the date on which they received an email again concerning a “update of the general subscription conditions”, as reported The Echo. Finally, the streaming platform had set up its system to add a member to the household – for a fee, obviously – in September across the Atlantic, but European subscribers were not allowed to do so. Finally, Disney+ provided more information for our regions during a conference at the Grand Palais Immersive in Paris which took place on December 10.
Disney+ account sharing: fairly high prices
The company has therefore set up a system for adding a member to an existing account, like what Netflix did – which, as a reminder, charges each new household on an account €5.99 in France and $7.99 across the Atlantic. So, adding an additional member to a Disney+ Account will cost $6.99 per month for a Standard account, or $9.99 for a Premium account. Small important clarification: it is only possible to add one outside person per household. This system has been available since September 26 in the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
But, unlike users in these countries, French subscribers still cannot pay to add a user to their account if they wish. According to Disney’s statements, this will be possible from 2025, without further details. The big-eared firm mentions a price of €4.99 for an additional account. A single price, which differs from the system established in the United States.
Disney+ account sharing: it’s over, like Netflix
Long feared, the end of account sharing for Netflix subscribers was a real tremor in the world of streaming. This practice, although very popular, is more than ever on the rise, with the proliferation of SVODs and significant increases in prices. The Red N strategy was risky because such a policy change could have caused many customers to leave.
Ultimately, the opposite happened, and six million new users finally decided to take out a new subscription between April and June 2023, which is much more than the departures. And that’s without counting the users who agreed to pay the additional €5.99 to add a member from outside the household to already existing accounts! This obviously gave ideas to some of its competitors since, almost three months after Netflix, i.e. at the beginning of August 2023, Disney+ was preparing to test a restriction on account sharing in India, as reported by the British press agency. Reuters.
Thus, users wanting to access the platform and not at home will see a message appear, explaining to them that they are not at home and suggesting that they create their own account. Disney+ has made it clear that the service has the means to analyze the activity of its users. And the firm is not joking, because it explains, in the French contract, that “if we determine that you have violated this Agreement, we may restrict or terminate access to the Service” ! The same goes for smart people who regularly use the platform via a web browser and who have installed an ad blocker.
The agreement also states that the new rules apply to all subscribers “unless otherwise authorized by your service level”. As with Netflix, if unwanted subscribers finally decide to take out their own subscription, their profile may be transferred. It remains to be seen whether the squatters will subscribe to their own offer, as was the case for the red N, or whether dissatisfied users will desert the platform.
Disney+ account sharing: a way to replenish the coffers
The general conditions of use, or CGU, had already been modified to include a statement explaining that subscribers “will agree not to usurp or distort [son] affiliation with any person or entity, including using another person’s username, password or other account information, or the name or likeness of another person, or providing false details about a parent or guardian.”
This decision is hardly surprising, because the platform needs to replenish its coffers. Indeed, after having invested generously in the production of original series and films – in particular for Star Wars and the Marvel universe – the big-eared company must confront profitability issues. And this is not the first time that she has looked towards Netflix to find the solution. In November 2023, it launched in France the Standard formula with advertising, a subscription partly financed by advertising, and increased its prices (see our article). It also raised its prices once again last October…
Disney+: advertising in all subscriptions?
Besides, speaking of advertising. Until now, the service offered, like Amazon and Netflix, a first level of package with advertising. Other subscriptions were therefore exempt. However, the platform indicated in its email last July that, now “All subscriptions may include limited advertising content, promotional content, Disney brand information, sponsorship messages and others, including advertisements in live content or special events that contain traditional commercial breaks.”
Neither one nor two, everyone thought that no subscription plan was safe from advertising during a series, film or documentary broadcast on the platform. The truth is fortunately less cruel. Advertising will only be included in the Standard and Premium plans under very specific conditions. Thus, only live broadcasts and other special programs from a traditional television broadcast will be able to include ad breaks. Promotional content could also appear on the platform’s home page, but it should under no circumstances appear when viewing films and series in the catalog. So it’s less annoying than you might think – but it is all the same.