Disney\u2019s password-sharing crackdown will officially begin this summer. During an earnings call on Wednesday, Disney chief financial officer Hugh Johnston said Disney Plus accounts \u201csuspected of improper sharing\u201d will see an option to sign up for their own subscription.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Disney will also start letting account holders add people outside their household for an \u201cadditional fee\u201d \u2014 but it didn\u2019t say how much that will cost. \u201cWe want to reach as large an audience as possible with our outstanding content,\u201d Johnston said. \u201cWe\u2019re looking forward to rolling out this new functionality to improve the overall customer experience and grow our subscriber base.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
This year, both Disney Plus<\/a> and Hulu<\/a> have updated their terms of service to ban users from sharing their subscriptions with people outside their households. The new terms started applying to new subscribers on January 25th, but it\u2019s coming for existing members on March 14th. Netflix already rolled out a similar version of paid sharing<\/a> last year, costing subscribers an extra $7.99 per month to add a person located outside their home.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cPaid sharing is an opportunity for us,\u201d Johnston added. \u201cIt\u2019s one that our competitor is obviously taking advantage of, and one that sits in front of us … We\u2019ve got some very specific actions that we\u2019re taking in the next couple of months.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n On Tuesday, Disney-owned ESPN revealed<\/a> plans to launch a new live sports streaming service in partnership with Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery. The not-yet-named service will launch this fall and will also be available to Disney Plus bundle subscribers with Hulu and ESPN Plus. The news of the service even comes as Disney plans to launch a direct-to-consumer version of ESPN<\/a> in August 2025, reflecting a shift away from pay TV amid a declining viewership<\/a> and shrinking ad market<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n