The Battle Against Account Sharing

Disney+ Adopts the "Extra Member" Strategy

Account sharing has become an issue for streaming platforms, significantly impacting their revenue. To address it, companies like Disney+ have started rolling out new account sharing strategies. 

On August 28th, Disney+ began charging for account sharing, following Netflix’s lead. Netflix introduced its “Extra Member” plan in over 55 countries last year. While Disney+’s plan is cheaper overall, the additional cost for each extra member is a larger percentage of the plan’s price compared to Netflix, where the overall plan is more expensive but the extra cost is proportionally lower. 

Disney+ allows users to add extra members to their account for an average fee of USD 5.69. This approach aims to manage account sharing by providing an option for those who share their accounts with other households to continue using the service. 

According to BB Media, account sharing rates on Disney+ are notably high in regions like Asia, the Pacific, and Latin America, reaching 32%, compared to 24% in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and 19% in North America. Although it’s more common to share accounts with just one additional household, the proportion of users sharing with two or more households is higher in Asia, the Pacific, and Latin America. This presents a challenge for the “Extra Member” plan’s effectiveness, as users may need to purchase multiple extra memberships, leading to a significant cost. 

Currently, Disney+’s “Extra Member” plan is available in Canada, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Italy, New Zealand, and Sweden, with plans for a global rollout in September. Will other platforms like Max, Paramount+, and Prime Video adopt similar strategies, or will they pursue different approaches to tackle this challenge?

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