Disney CEO announces plans to crackdown on password-sharing

Disney’s CEO has announced official plans to crack down on a widespread user habit on the company’s popular streaming service.

The dream is about to be over for many Disney+ users, with the company announcing its intention to officially crack down on password-sharing.

Five years after the entertainment conglomerate launched its streaming platform, Disney CEO Bob Iger has said the service will begin rolling out password measures “in earnest” in most countries outside of the US from September, as streamers continue to brainstorm avenues to maximise profitability.

“We’ve been talking a lot about adding the technology features that we need to basically make it a higher return, higher margin business, and a more successful business. And we’re doing that right now,” Mr Iger said during the call Wednesday.

Disney+ will crack down on password-sharing from September. Picture: Chris Delmas/AFP

He continued, “We started our password-sharing initiative in June. That kicks in, in earnest, in September.

“By the way, we’ve had no backlash at all to the notifications that have gone out and to the work that we’ve already been doing.”

It’s a significant step forward in monetising the struggling sector, with Disney finally recording a profit of $US47 million ($A71.75 million) for its streaming services Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ in its third fiscal quarter, no doubt thanks to four price hikes which have seen Disney+ subscription costs double since it first launched in 2019.

Password-sharing has been stamped out across most leading streaming services, with Netflix cracking down on the user habit last year, prompting a significant uptick in subscriptions.

Disney+ holds the entire Marvel catalogue.

Meanwhile, several platforms have also been introducing ads to their offerings, giving consumers the option to “upgrade” to ad-free memberships at higher prices.

Prime Video began charging Australian customers an extra $2.99 per month to opt out of ads on July 2, joining the likes of Netflix ($6.99 with ads, $16.99 without ads) and Binge ($10 with ads, $18 without ads) to introduce advertising in Australia.

Elsewhere, Paramount+ launched its ad-tier in June, while Disney+ is rumoured to be rolling ads out locally some time this year.

According to 2023 data obtained from Finder’s Consumer Sentiment Tracker (CST), Netflix is by far the most popular streaming service in Australia, with more than double the customers of its nearest competitor, Disney+.