Attention: If you don't act, you'll soon be paying more for Disney+

Luca Fontana

10/8/2023

Translation: machine translated

Disney has a problem: its streaming division costs much more money than it earns. That's why the plan is to make it more expensive and ban account sharing. Is a new Netflix emerging?

Update, 1 November 2023:

The advertising subscription is here. Specifically: If you want to continue to enjoy the same benefits of a Disney+ plan as before, you will have to pay more. However, those who are prepared to accept adverts when streaming will pay less. I have answered the ten most important questions here:

Here is the original news:

What sounds advantageous is actually clever business PR. Because it is only in the second part of the email that the real news comes to light: the current Disney+ subscription is getting more expensive - by a whopping 5 francs per month.

If you no longer want to pay for Disney+, you have to take action yourself

In addition to the ad-financed plan, Disney is introducing two other models from 1 November: the standard and the premium model. The premium model, which costs 17.90 francs per month, corresponds to the current standard plan. The "new" standard plan will cost the same as the current 12.90 francs, but will be significantly slimmed down:

This means that Disney is effectively introducing a hefty price increase - under the guise of "more flexibility and choice". However, the email does not reveal when and how many adverts the new, ad-financed plan will show while streaming. However, it does state that existing customers' plans will automatically be upgraded to the expensive premium model if they do not actively decide to switch to one of the two cheaper models on 1 November.

Disney goes one better - and wants to ban account sharing

The situation is indeed serious: in the second quarter alone, Disney's streaming division lost a whopping 659 million US dollars. This is a small improvement on the 887 million US dollars of the same quarter a year ago. But still a long way from a profitable business like that of Netflix.

However, the Californians from Los Gatos could now become Disney's new role model.

Is paid account sharing also coming to Disney?

Disney doesn't seem to be able to act quite so quickly yet. Initially, only the Disney+ terms of use are to be updated and account sharing "officially" banned. So that the initial "lip service" can later become a fact - as with Netflix.

In fact, when asked how high the proportion of shared accounts is, Iger is said to have answered "significant". While the first effects of the planned "monetisation" will be felt as early as 2024, it is unlikely that the "work" on it will be completed in the same year, the boss continued.

This sounds more cryptic than it is: Disney, like Netflix, wants to ban account sharing and introduce paid account sharing as soon as possible. The question is therefore not if, but when this will happen.

Update, 27 October 2023:

In an email, Disney is currently informing its subscribers about upcoming changes to the terms of use. It contains a small passage: "We're clarifying how you can share your account with other people." What sounds inconspicuous at first means exactly what we have been suspecting for weeks: After Netflix, the House of Mouse also wants to actively take action against account sharing.

Luca Fontana

Senior Editor

Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.ch

I write about technology as if it were cinema, and about films as if they were real life. Between bits and blockbusters, I’m after stories that move people, not just generate clicks. And yes – sometimes I listen to film scores louder than I probably should.

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