When the news of Netflix restricting password sharing emerged, a lot of people were devastated given that they were outside the primary household of the account holder and they would have to either pay the extra or make a new account. Now, the same has started for Disney+.
Disney Joins the No Password Sharing Club
Yet another streaming service has become a thorn in the side of those who use accounts outside the main household. Disney+ has already started cracking down on password sharing beginning in Canada, which will likely apply to other countries soon enough.
The company emailed subscribers in advance notifying them of the upcoming change. With that said, users will also be given three choices, to pay the extra charge for the extended usage, to create a new account, or to abandon Disney+ altogether.
The streaming service's new Subscriber Agreement states that a household only includes "the collection of devices associated with your primary personal residence." It is also limited to the people who live in the primary location, as per Engadget.
Disney states that the new policy will apply to everyone unless permitted by the Service Tier the account holder is paying for. So far, there have been no announcements regarding the price of the extra charge for outside users while Netflix is charging an additional $8 per month for it.
This was not at all a surprising change since Disney aims to be more profitable over the coming years. CEO Bob Iger has also hinted at the change during an earnings call in August, so it was a matter of "when" and not "if" the crackdown will happen.
Users might choose to opt for the extra charge instead since the closest plan to the pricing is Standard with Ads at $6.99 a month. Subscribers can just pay a dollar more than the cheapest plan to continue to enjoy ad-free streaming outside the household.
Streaming Subscriptions Are Getting Heavier
There are so many streaming services now with their own exclusive content that you'll have to pay for two or three plans to watch them all. What's worse is that the price range isn't exactly as steady as we'd hoped. Most of the major providers have already raised their prices.
Back in March, Netflix raised its prices with the standard ad-free tier costing $15.49, which was previously $13.99. The same happened with its premium tier that allows users to watch in 4K, which went from $17.99 to $19.99.
Disney is also set to increase the price of its ad-free premium plan which will go from $10.99 a month to $13.99 a month. The change will take effect on October 12 in the US. Fortunately for some, the company is releasing a cheaper ad-tier plan on November 1st.
By extension, Hulu saw a price hike in subscription plans as well. For the ad-tier plan, the $14.99 price saw a significant increase to $17.99 per month. According to Forbes, users can still opt for Hulu's ad-tier plans, which to this day remain the same, including the ad-tier bundles.
