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CEO Bob Iger said the goal is to grow engagement on the streaming platform by offering a ‘wider variety of programming’ such as news and sports.
Disney+ is set to start its password-sharing crackdown from September as Disney streaming services return a profit for the first time.
In an earnings call yesterday (7 August), Disney CEO Bob Iger said that a password-sharing initiative first launched in June will kick in “in earnest” in September.
“We’ve had no backlash at all to the notifications that have gone out and to the work that we’ve already been doing,” Iger said. “We know that we need stronger recommendation engines, and we’re working on that technology, and we need to make our marketing more efficient.”
Disney reported revenue of $23.16bn in its third-quarter earnings, higher than the $23.07bn that analysts estimated. Operating income was up nearly a fifth over last year’s figure, a surge that was led by the company’s entertainment division – particularly its streaming services.
Combined streaming, including Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, posted an operating profit of $47m compared to a $512m loss in the same quarter last year.
In the earnings call, Iger stated that the success of TV shows such as Shogun, The Bear, Abbott Elementary and Only Murders in the Building have helped boost Disney+ viewership and earnings. Iger said that new Disney films such as Inside Out 2 have also boosted streaming, with people watching the first film.
According to Iger, the goal is to grow engagement on the platform by offering a “wider variety of programming” such as news and sports.
“We feel very bullish about the future of this business. We’re not saying much more about it, except you can expect that it’s going to grow nicely in fiscal 2025,” he said.
“The other thing I want to add is that we’ve been talking a lot about adding the technology features that we need to basically make it a higher-return, higher-margin business and a more successful business. And we’re doing that right now.”
The upcoming Disney+ password-sharing crackdown follows a similar move made by rival Netflix, which first started its own password-sharing crackdown last year. Netflix’s roll-out hit Irish customers in May 2023.
Disney+ confirmed that it was looking into password sharing last August after its subscriber numbers for the quarter declined more than expected – a 7.4pc decline – though Disney’s streaming losses narrowed in the same period. As of May, Disney+ had 153.6m subscribers.
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