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Several months ago, Disney announced plans to intensify its efforts in addressing account sharing—where multiple households utilize a single streaming service account. This initiative is expected to take effect soon for numerous users, necessitating that those who share accounts either incur additional fees or obtain individual subscriptions to continue accessing content. With the push against account sharing already initiated in June, Disney is poised to broaden these measures in the upcoming weeks.
During a recent investor call, CEO Bob Iger emphasized the necessity of enhancing the profitability and overall success of Disney’s streaming sector. “Our goal is to transform it into a business with higher returns and greater profit margins,” Iger stated. “We’re actively pursuing this ambition right now with our password-sharing campaign that began in June and will gain full momentum by September. Interestingly, we have not received any negative feedback regarding our initial communications and initiatives.”
As for the specifics of these changes, details on how much Disney will charge U.S. customers who wish to share their accounts outside their primary residences remain vague at this point. In contrast, Netflix charges an added fee per extra household.
This crackdown on password sharing coincides with an impending price increase for several Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ subscription plans set for October. Most plans are seeing rises of $1 or $2 monthly; notably, the ad-supported bundle for Disney+ and Hulu will shift from $10 to $11 per month.
Iger mentioned that enhancing content programming on Disney+ requires robust recommendation algorithms—a feature currently under development—as well as more effective marketing strategies aimed at retaining subscribers year-round. To pave this path forward, the company plans to introduce what they describe as “continuous playlists” designed for constant streaming availability. Initial offerings include ABC News Live along with curated playlists featuring programming suitable for young children.
In encouraging news about its performance metrics, Disney disclosed that its streaming division has entered profitability territory recently; specifically, during Q1 (January-March), only Disneyland’s losses were mitigated by a collective profit margin of $47 million across its direct-to-consumer (DTC) services including Hulu and ESPN+. This marks a significant recovery compared to last year’s staggering loss of $512 million across these platforms combined—one quarter ahead of prior expectations.
The company also aims to launch a complete sports streaming platform next year called Venu—a collaboration involving ESPN alongside Fox and Warner Bros Discovery—but it faces potential scrutiny from rivals due primarily due to antitrust concerns surrounding such joint ventures.
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