Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+ are now on the same page of rules: Beginning Thursday, March 14, all three services will be restricting password sharing for current subscribers. Hulu already issued this crackdown warning in recent weeks, and these restrictions will immediately affect new subscribers.
How exactly is Mickey flexing his muscle? The Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+ subscriber agreements now state that you’re not allowed to share accounts outside of your household, meaning “the collection of devices associated with your primary personal residence that are used by the individuals who reside therein.”
Like Netflix before it, parent company Disney tested out its new password-sharing protocol in another country first: Canada. That was in Sept. 2023, and since subscribers up north didn’t drop Disney services en masse—perhaps they were too polite to do so?—the company decided to now pull the trigger in the United States. O Canada, how you failed us on the frontlines.
Disney’s password-sharing announcements so far are detail-light and threat-heavy, and it’s unclear exactly how your viewing habits are going to be monitored."
So, if you’re deemed to be sharing your Hulu, Disney+, or ESPN+ account (or the combined bundle) outside of your household, you could have your account limited or even canceled, “unless otherwise permitted by your Service Tier.” What does that mean? We scoured the Hulu Help Center and came up empty, but maybe Disney will impart more info as March 14 nears.
Since implementing its password-sharing restrictions, Netflix allows you to add extra outside household accounts for an additional $7.99 a month per account. Disney could come up with a similar offer to avoid hostile service terminations by the company or subscribers, but we’ll have to wait and see.
Disney’s password-sharing announcements so far are detail-light and threat-heavy, and it’s unclear exactly how your viewing habits are going to be monitored. Is Disney going to be kicking off thousands of paying subscribers in order to thwart hundreds of shadow account sharers? Not likely, but anything can happen when you get between the Mouse and his money.
Current Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+ plans and pricing
Hulu plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | Streams | Video | User profiles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hulu (Limited Ads) | $7.99/mo. | 2 | 1080p, 4K | 7 |
| Hulu (No Ads) | 13.99/mo. | 2 | 1080p, 4K | 7 |
| Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ Bundle | $14.99–$24.99/mo. | 4 | 1080p, 4K | 7 |
Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
Disney+ plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | Streams | Video | User profiles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disney+ Basic (Limited Ads) | $7.99/mo. | 4 | 1080p, 4K | 7 |
| Disney+ Premium (No Ads) | 13.99/mo. | 4 | 1080p, 4K | 7 |
| Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ Bundle | $14.99–$24.99/mo. | 4 | 1080p, 4K | 7 |
Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
ESPN+ plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | Streams | Video | User profiles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ESPN+ | $10.99/mo. | 3 | 1080p | 1 |
| Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ Bundle | $14.99–$24.99/mo. | 4 | 1080p, 4K | 7 |
Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
Bill Frost has been a journalist and TV reviewer since the 4:3-aspect-ratio ’90s. His pulse-pounding prose has been featured in The Salt Lake Tribune, Inlander, Coachella Valley Independent, Las Vegas Weekly, and many other dead-tree publications (see BillFrost.tv). In addition to being a Senior Staff Writer at CableTV.com, Bill is a syndicated streaming TV columnist forSalt Lake City Weekly and other alternative weeklies, and host/producer of TV Tan Podcast. By night, Bill cranks a Flying V with his band at the bar.
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