- Streaming customers are learning a tough economic lesson: There’s no free lunch.
- Disney has found success imitating Netflix’s password-sharing clampdown.
- Other streamers are following suit.
Playtime’s over for freeloaders.
Password-sharing crackdowns on streaming services have exceeded expectations, so those still logged in to their sibling’s or ex’s account should prepare to pay up.
Netflix once made waves by locking out moochers. While customers complained, that decision drove a record year of subscriber sign-ups, including its best-ever quarter.
Other media giants are now mimicking that strategy.
Disney defied Wall Street’s estimates, announcing that it added 2.5 million Disney+ and Hulu subscribers in the first three months of 2025. Many analysts had expected the customer base to shrink, considering that streaming growth had slowed in recent years.
“Paid sharing” helped revive Disney’s streaming growth, CEO Bob Iger said Wednesday on the company’s earnings call. This program allows account holders to pay an extra $7 to $10 a month — depending on their plan — for users outside their households. Otherwise, freeloaders who want to keep watching must get their own accounts. This rollout began for Disney+ users in the fall and for Hulu customers in March.
Disney isn’t alone. Warner Bros. Discovery rolled out paid sharing for Max in late April, betting that doing so would kick-start growth, though the password-sharing crackdown hasn’t extended to all users yet. It looks like NBC will follow suit, as it updated Peacock’s terms of service late last year to warn users not to share passwords outside their households.
Not everyone has jumped on the bandwagon, as Paramount and the tech giants Amazon and Apple aren’t yet cracking down on users who watch shows and movies on someone else’s account.
But could they be next? Those streaming services are meant to be for a single household, so their parent companies could change course.
Those who get locked out of their favorite streamers won’t be thrilled, but the good news is that there are more cheap options than there were a few years ago.
Most major streamers now have more affordable ad tiers, which are increasingly popular, including with customers who never wanted to pay in the first place.
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