The legality of sharing one's Netflix password has been something that has been questioned in the past, but the company has not been super severe with the practice. Whenever Disney+ arrives to challenge Netflix's streaming prowess, the new service will apparently be stricter about users sharing their passwords than Netflix has been in the past.
A new deal struck between Disney and Charter Communications will allow customers to bundle-purchase Hulu, ESPN+, and Disney+ through Charter’s Spectrum TV. In crafting the deal, the two parties agreed to work together to clamp down on the habit of password-sharing, a practice that has allowed willing users to give friends or family members free access to their subscriptions.
Disney+ is still months away from launching. However, it and Spectrum’s joint stance against password sharing has already come into focus. They want to keep Disney’s impressive vault of content restricted solely to those who are paying to see it.
Back in January 2019, it was reported that a new AI tool had been developed to determine if users were sharing their passwords. It could theoretically be used by Netflix and any of its rivals. Is this the instrument that Disney+ and Spectrum will use? That has not been disclosed, per Ars Technica, with Charter not offering up any further details about the approach. However, those means are a potentially intriguing way for them to do so.
Given users’ affection for being able to share their passwords, it will be interesting to see how potential subscribers react to Disney’s restrictions. Could this hurt the number of people considering subscribing? A few months ago, a report indicated that Disney+ could attract a lot more customers than researchers initially thought.
Things are only going to get more intense as the streaming wars continue heating up. Could this password sharing stance eventually be embraced by Disney+’s competition? Time will tell.
Like Netflix sticking by its no-commercials policy, its tolerance of password sharing has kind of gone hand-in-hand. At least from my perspective. Netflix’s competition has been skeptical about it being able to stay commercial-free, so who knows what is next.
A few months ago, a report indicated that Netflix could lose millions of customers to Disney+. With the impending arrival of its toughest competition yet, Netflix’s boss has weighed in on the future. He had argued that users may add new streamers without cancelling Netflix. Considering its stance on password sharing, this may hold true.
The question is if Disney+ being stricter about password sharing will be an edge for Netflix in the streaming wars. Will it have any impact on prospective Disney+ subscribers? Or is the importance of sharing your password not as strong as seeing all the Marvel shows rumored to arrive Disney+? Stay tuned.
Netflix has a bunch of content premiering this year. Along with anticipating the launch of Disney+ in November, there are also a plethora of fall TV premieres.
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