\n<\/p>\n
Fans of \u201cThe Bear\u201d won\u2019t be able to use a friend\u2019s Hulu account to watch Season 3.<\/p>\n
The Walt Disney Company, which owns Hulu, joined Netflix this week in banning password sharing in an effort to boost the company\u2019s subscriber numbers and make its streaming services business profitable.<\/p>\n
In an email to its subscribers<\/a> on Wednesday, Hulu said it would start \u201cadding limitations on sharing your account outside of your household,\u201d beginning March 14.<\/p>\n The company added that it would analyze account use, and that it could suspend or terminate accounts that shared login details beyond their households.<\/p>\n On Jan. 25, Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu<\/a>, all services owned by Disney, updated their terms of service agreements to prohibit viewers from \u201cusing another person\u2019s username, password or other account information\u201d to access their content.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Disney, whose streaming catalog includes Star Wars, Pixar and Marvel movies, aims to turn a profit on its streaming services this year, according to earnings reports.<\/p>\n Disney\u2019s chief executive, Bob Iger, foreshadowed the password crackdown in a third-quarter earnings call<\/a> last August in which the company reported losses of $512 million<\/a> on its three streaming services.<\/p>\n In the call, Mr. Iger said that the company believed there was a \u201csignificant\u201d amount of password sharing among its users, and that a crackdown would result in some growth in subscriber numbers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe certainly have established this as a real priority,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd we actually think that there\u2019s an opportunity here to help us grow our business.\u201d<\/p>\n In its quest to push its streaming services business into the black, Disney took full control of Hulu<\/a>, which was already profitable, in November.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n