The week we woke up to some surprising news: Netflix had lost 200,000 users in the last quarter. In addition, the forecasts are not at all rosy, since the firm believes that in the second quarter the figure will increase to millions of lost customers. And it seems that Disney + is considering following in the footsteps of its rival and applying a rather unpopular measure.
The idea that is going through the heads of Netflix managers is to offer a new subscription model with advertising. But they also plan a very controversial measure: they want to turn off the tap when it comes to sharing accounts with other users. A movement that could cause a drain of customers. The problem? which seems that Disney + is evaluating the same option.
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Disney+ has launched a survey asking why we share accounts
Disney+ survey focused mainly on the issue of account sharing… Let’s see, don’t lie to try to cut the wings of people who screw up… pic.twitter.com/DycniWdgIJ
– Antonio Casado (@timelapses) April 27, 2022
As you can see in the Twitter message that a user has published, Disney+ has started conducting surveys among platform customers asking the reasons why you are sharing your account with other people outside the household.
We don’t know the reasons why the on-demand content platform has started conducting these surveys, but it doesn’t look good at all. More than anything because it could use the “call effect” of Netflix to apply the same conditions. And this is a blunder.
The truth is that both VOD platforms point to the same business model that would include a new rate with advertising. At the beginning of last March, Disney + confirmed that it would launch a new cheaper subscription model with ads.
And the idea is not bad at all, offering the possibility of enjoying its service at a more moderate price in exchange for seeing advertising. Taking into account the income that you could receive with this option, since, on the one hand, you would earn money through subscriptions and, on the other hand, through the advertising displayed, the idea is not bad at all. But ban account sharing on Disney+ It is a very different topic.
It is not confirmed at the moment
At the moment it is too early to know, since currently the only thing they have done is a survey to find out the main reasons why platform customers are sharing a Disney+ account with other users outside the home. But when the river sounds, water carries. And, as we have indicated before, other VOD platforms could follow in their footsteps to establish this ban on all services.
Surely they allow account sharing by paying an extra, but most likely it will not be as profitable as it has been up to now. The problem is that if they do this, they will most likely lose many more customers that they will resort to other ways, either through torrent and other methods to download content illegally, to continue enjoying movies and series.
ANDhe main reason why services like Spotify have taken it upon themselves to eliminate the scourge of music piracy has a lot to do with prices. This platform, like Tidal or Amazon Music HD to give an example, has an impressive catalog of music, so today it doesn’t make much sense to download content fraudulently.
And something similar happens with VOD platforms. When Netflix arrived in Spain, it had a huge catalog that increased month after month, causing a drop in illegal content downloads. As new platforms arrived, the big N lost part of its catalog, meaning that we had to be subscribed to two or more platforms if we wanted to enjoy a good number of movies and series. And, the way to do it profitably is by sharing an account.
We will have to see how this issue progresses and if Disney + finally decides to prohibit sharing accounts with other users outside the home, but it would not be good news at all, neither for users nor for the entertainment industry.
