Disney+ issuing £60 fines in crackdown which has 'begun in earnest'

Disney+ issuing £60 fines in crackdown which has 'begun in earnest'
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


Disney is issuing £60 fines for subscribers in the UK in a crackdown which has began in "earnest". During an earnings call on Wednesday, Disney CEO Bob Iger said the crackdown on password-sharing will kick off “in earnest” this September.

In the streamer's UK Help Centre, it states: "You may not share your subscription outside of your household". Jan Koeppen, President of The Walt Disney Company EMEA said: "The introduction of the ad-supported plan marks the next evolution for Disney+ in the UK, as we provide greater choice for our customers and our world-class advertising partners alike.

"Disney+ continues to set itself apart in today's streaming landscape, offering unrivalled value, genre-defining TV series and blockbuster movies set within a simple and seamless experience.” In new subscriber's agreements sent to those registered with Disney+, it now states: "Unless otherwise permitted by your Service Plan, you may not share your subscription outside of your household. 'Household' means the collection of devices associated with your primary personal residence that are used by the individuals who reside therein. Additional usage rules may apply for certain Service Plans."

READ MORE UK faces 66 hours of snow with three places 'worst hit' by flurries

Disney+ will be tracking IP addresses to register where users are accessing the streamer from, which will in turn show which users are based in the main household and which are not. Any users seen to have "violated this agreement" can have their access limited or terminated.

The contract adds: "You will be responsible for any use of your account by your household, including compliance with this section." In February, Disney announced plans to roll out paid sharing and also began notifying users about the change. It then launched paid sharing in a “few countries” in June but provided no information on when it would reach the UK.

“We’ve had no backlash at all to the [paid sharing] notifications that have gone out and to the work that we’ve already been doing,” Iger says. On top of the crackdown, Disney is raising prices across Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus in the US starting in October.

Iger says he’s “not concerned” about losing subscribers over the price increase since the company is also adding ABC News Live and curated playlists that give the company “pricing leverage.” Disney Plus is the third largest online streaming platform, with around 150m subscribers. Netflix is the biggest, with almost 250m users, rolled by Amazon Prime Video, at 200m users.

Paramount Plus has around 70m users, while Apple TV Plus trails with under 50m users.