The Disney+ ‘Paid Sharing’ Deal Is Way Worse Than Netflix’s
No more streaming “The Simpsons” on someone else’s dime, freeloaders: The password sharing crackdown has officially come to Disney+.
Disney has unveiled the pricing details and specifics of its “Paid Sharing” rollout, the industry-friendly term for preventing multiple households from using the same streaming login. Netflix was the first to crack down, and CEO Bob Iger recently said that if Disney wanted any chance of catching Netflix at streaming, it would need to do the same.
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At first glance, like the literal title of the program, its rules and logistics are pretty similar to what Netflix users had to deal with over a year ago. Anyone attempting to use a login not automatically detected to be in the same user household will be blocked from doing so. The former borrower will then be prompted to either have the authorized account holder add them as an “extra member,” or start paying for Disney+ themselves. (Or, you know, watch NBC or something.)
Profile data for the borrower can be transferred by the lender to a new account.
But dig a little deeper and you’ll find that Disney’s paid-sharing program does not stack up to Netflix’s. Just start with the price tag.
For ad-supported Disney+, an extra member will cost $6.99/month. For ad-free, it’s $9.99. Netflix’s extra members cost $7.99, though the program is only available on one of its two ad-free tiers. (OK, so if you really love commercials, the Disney+ paid-sharing program does have the one advantage. But if you want Netflix with ads, it’s cheaper to get your own account for $6.99 than it would be to glom on anyway.)
For now, a Disney+ Basic (with ads) extra member runs 87 percent of the monthly cost for just getting another account. That’s crazy. The charge for an extra member on Disney+ Premium (ad-free) is 71 percent of what a new account would cost.
But those nutty numbers are anticipating the coming (latest) Disney+ price hike. Starting October 17, 2024, ad-supported Disney+ will cost $9.99 and ad-free goes up to $15.99. So then, an extra member on Disney+ Basic will cost 70 percent of what a new account would run; Disney+ Premium extra members will cost 62 percent of what the original account holder is already paying.
Meanwhile, an extra member on Netflix Standard (the ad-free plan you probably have) will cost 52 percent of what the account itself costs ($7.99 vs. $15.49). It’s an even better deal for the Netflix Premium tier, on which an extra member is still only $7.99/month, which works out to be just 35 percent of the primary subscription ($22.99/month).
One could argue that there is a method to Disney’s madness: Making its paid sharing program relatively unattractive could result in more new accounts, jolting its subscription numbers. Also, what Disney really wants is for you to subscribe to the Disney Bundle: Disney+, Hulu, and a yes or no on ESPN+. Bundle subscribers cancel their subscriptions less than users who pick and choose their streaming suite completely a la carte.
Paid sharing is not available to Disney Bundle subscribers “at this time,” the company said in a blog post.
The biggest check — value — goes to Netflix, but we’re not done with the advantages in its favor. Disney+ will only allow account holders to add one extra member, regardless of which tier they’re on. The same restriction applies to Netflix’s Standard plan, but Netflix Premium allows a user to add two extra members from outside the household.
Like it was with Netflix, the password sharing crackdown is a necessary evil. The former wild west left potentially billions of dollars and millions of subscriptions on the table. Netflix added roughly six million subscribers in the first quarter following the program’s rollout. The options are also (slowly) pushing more users to the ad-supported plan, which generates more average revenue/member (ARM).
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