There are quite a few video platforms that want to follow in Netflix’s footsteps. Since the queen of streaming angered by its restrictions regarding shared accounts, several have threatened to do the same. In the case of Disney+, they are about to keep their promise.
The streaming service Disney+ will be the next to make it difficult for users who want to share passwords. They have been warning about this for some time now, but until now, they had only been threats that seemed unlikely to arrive in the short term. However, the company has just set a date. Starting in September, the company will start to get serious about limiting shared accounts between users who do not live together.
Although they have already begun to restrict access at the end of 2023 in Canada and, in June, they did so with a new batch of countries, their efforts to end this practice will be more noticeable in the coming weeks. Therefore, it is possible that we Spaniards are beginning to be affected by this decision of the Walt Disney brand.
Disney CEO Bob Iger has excused his decision as an attempt to turn the platform into a “more profitable, higher margin, more successful business.” Although this streaming service is one of the latest to be launched (in 2019) and has quickly become the third most subscribed service, the firm’s aim is to go further. To achieve this, they must put an end to shared accounts.
In theory, Disney+ does not allow its customers to share an account with other people who do not live with them. Just like Netflix, Max and other services. However, they do not carry out exhaustive control to detect users who break their rules and limit access. That is going to change, and it will do so precisely in September, next month. When the limits begin to be noticed, there will only be two options: subscribe to disney+ only with cohabitants, or use the extra subscription, about which very little is still known.
Disney+ will copy Netflix’s extra subscription formula
When Netflix proposed tightening its restrictions on shared accounts, it came up with a solution to avoid angering its users. It involved extra subscriptions that non-cohabitants could sign up for to have their own profile without restrictions without paying as much.
Not everyone can enjoy this advantage on Netflix. Only those who are subscribed to the Standard plan (12.99 euros per month) and the Premium plan (17.99 euros per month). In the first case, they can add up to one extra and, in the second, two. But in both plans the added fee is 5.99 euros per month.
Although Disney+ has not given much information on the subject yet, it seems that they are willing to take inspiration from the idea of Netflix. Possibly, this possibility will come to the United States first, but, once they apply the tightening of shared accounts in Spain, there will surely be many Spaniards interested in the extra subscription.
The end of shared accounts coincides with a rise in prices
Almost at the same time as the news that Disney+ is going to get serious about shared accounts in September, we have learned that they intend to raise prices. Yesterday, at ADSLZone, we informed you that rates were increasing in the US and it is likely that sooner or later the change will also come to Spain.
Disney+ is reportedly planning to increase its prices on October 17 in North America. What happens in the North American country is always the prelude to what is coming to Europe. This happened with shared Netflix accounts and with the change of name of HBO Max to just Max. And it will most likely happen with the rates of The Walt Disney Company’s streaming platform as well.
But it should be noted that the new prices will come with new features that justify them. According to the company, a Playlist system will arrive on Disney+ on September 4, with continuous playlists. Something similar to the traditional channels that will save us from having to spend time deciding what we want to watch. Of course, as with everything, it will arrive in the US before it does in other countries.
Disney’s CEO also believes that the streaming service should strengthen its programming with better “recommendation engines” and more efficient marketing. This is how they aim to keep their viewers hooked, despite the price increase and the tightening of restrictions on shared accounts.
