ESPN Looking To Reduce Streaming Piracy

With Disney set to launch ESPN+ and a Disney streaming service in the future, the issue of password sharing is something Disney are aware of and planning to deal with.

While many might view sharing passwords with friends and family isn’t doing anything wrong, Streaming platforms consider it piracy including Justin Connolly, an executive vice president of ESPN, who said “It’s people consuming something they haven’t paid for. The more the practice is viewed with a shrug, the more it creates a dynamic where people believe it’s acceptable. And it’s not.”

ESPN has already taken actions to reduce the amount of users that could simultaneous stream on its Watch ESPN app from 10 to 5, with them considering moving the limit down to 3.   Disney’s Streaming Service DisneyLife in Europe allows 10 logins and Netflix offers different amounts depending on the plan.

Other plans to reduce piracy include making users login more regularly, as they usually only require a login once a year.  And with the TV industry losses from password sharing expected to rise to $9.9 billion by 2021 from $3.5 billion this year, it’s easy to see why Disney are worried.