The Walt Disney Company on Wednesday officially launched a new “paid sharing program” for its subscribers.
The aim is to crack down on password and account sharing on its Disney+ streaming service and increase profitability.
This means subscribers sharing their Disney+ account with family members or friends outside their household will no longer be able to share it with them.
They will be required to pay extra to add that person to their Disney+ account subscription.
Disney+ paid sharing features and capabilities are now available in the United States (U.S.), Canada, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region after being launched in select markets over the summer.
“Your Disney+ subscription is meant to be used within your Household, which is a collection of devices associated with your primary personal residence that are used by the individuals who reside there,” the company wrote in a blog post on Wednesday.
“But what about people outside of your Household? They will need to sign up and pay for their own subscription or be added as an Extra Member to your account for an additional monthly fee to continue enjoying Disney+.”
Account holders who want to add someone outside their Household to their Disney+ subscription can do so by paying extra for that Extra Member.
For instance, an Extra Member profile will cost an additional $6.99 monthly for Disney+ Basic subscriptions and $9.99 for Disney+ Premium subscriptions in the U.S.
It is important to note that only one Extra Member can be added per primary account. Currently, the Extra Member option is unavailable for Disney Bundle subscribers (which can include Hulu or Hulu and ESPN+) or subscribers billed through third-party partners.
As an alternative to Extra Member, anyone outside the Household can sign up for their own subscription to watch Disney+.
As the account holder, they can transfer an eligible profile to a new subscription or Extra Member to keep that profile’s Disney+ watch history and settings.
However, certain profiles, such as primary profiles (account holders), minors’ profiles, and those set to Junior Mode, cannot be transferred.
Additionally, the company said that Disney+ users who are away from home or traveling can still watch Disney+ on their supported devices as the account holder or members of their Household.
According to Disney, “If you’re on the go and you see the message “This TV doesn’t seem to be part of the Household for this account,” you can mark yourself as I’M AWAY FROM HOME, or select UPDATE HOUSEHOLD if you’ve recently moved and need to reset the Household location for your Disney+ subscription. These selections will require a one-time passcode that’s sent to the email address associated with the account.”
Disney is increasing prices on most of its plans effective October 17th. For instance, the Disney+ Basic (with ads) plan will cost $9.99/month from its previous $7.99, while the Disney+ Premium (no ads) plan will go up from $13.99 to $15.99/month.
Similarly, Hulu (with ads) will cost $9.99/month, up by $2, and Hulu (no ads) will be raised to $18.99/month from its previous $17.99/month.
This move from Disney follows Netflix’s successful move to curb password sharing, which has seen the popular video-streaming giant add millions of new subscribers since the crackdown began last year.
For instance, Netflix added 13.1 new million subscribers in the three months ending in December 2023 and over 9 million subscribers in the first quarter of 2024.
