What you need to know
- In its earnings call, Disney's CEO Bob Iger stated the company is looking to introduce a password-sharing crackdown much like Netflix.
- Iger stated policies will begin changing later in 2023 with new "tactics" to monetize it arriving in 2024.
- The report details Disney Plus' observed a slight decrease in subscribers this past quarter.
- Disney announced a new ad-supported bundle arriving for U.S. consumers on September 6 for $19.99.
Disney's head sheds some light on a password-sharing practice Netflix has become notorious for.
During Disney's earnings call, the company's CEO, Bob Iger, informed that there are plans in the pipeline to introduce a password-sharing crackdown similar to Netflix (via The Verge). In questioning Iger about if Disney was aware of how many users have been password-sharing, he declined to comment. However, he added the number was "significant."
Disney's new future seems to be approaching as Iger explains Disney will "begin to update our subscriber agreements with additional terms and our sharing policies" later in 2023.
The streaming service apparently has the "technical capability" to monitor user sign-ins but will look to implement "tactics" to further drive monetization of this new policy sometime in 2024.
Though controversial, Netflix's decision to start charging users for sharing accounts accounted for 80% of its earned revenue in Q2 2023. That may have fueled the decision for Disney to look for ways to further monetization, which could look similar to the $7.99 additional fee Netflix imposed on users sharing with members outside of their households.
The earnings report for the company looked a little bleak as it reported a 1% decline in its Disney Plus streaming service, going from 46.3 million subscribers in April to 46 million in July. Hulu made an incremental increase to 44 million subscribers, while the Disney Plus and Hotstar match suffered significantly, dropping 24% of its subscribers.
Although, the service ended the previous quarter with an earned revenue of $22.3 billion, a 4% increase.
Iger remains optimistic about Disney's streaming future, stating, "Moving forward, I believe three businesses will drive the greatest growth in value creation over the next five years."
Moreover, the company announced a new ad-support bundle, packaging Disney Plus Premium with Hulu's no-ads option for $19.99. Disney states the new plan will become available for U.S. consumers on September 6, with other countries in Europe and Canada on November 1.
This move by Disney was influenced by its "successful launch" of the ad-supported tier, which rolled out for U.S. consumers last year.
