Latest news with #passwordsharing
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
HBO Max is making a huge change next month. Here's what you need to know
We know, we know. You were probably just getting used to calling it HBO Max again. But here comes the streaming world's most tumultuous service with another huge change. This time, they're coming for password sharing. In a quarterly earnings call, JB Perrette, the head of streaming and gaming at Warner Bros. Discovery, announced that the company would be taking a more aggressive tack in dealing with password sharing. Perrette said the initiative would target 'who's a legitimate user who may not be a legitimate user.' What this means is that the service will be monitoring information like device IDs and IP addresses to determine when an account is being shared outside the boundaries of one's household. When the service uncovers instances of this, it will prompt those outside to pay an additional $7.99 per month to be added as an extra member. Netflix kickstarted this crackdown trend back in 2023. Other services, like Disney Plus, have followed suit. With all of these massive corporations finding new ways to squeeze every dime out of consumers they possibly can, we find it's best to bundle as many of these services together as possible. The HBO Max/Disney Plus/Hulu bundle is perhaps the best example of this. For only $16.99 per month, you get all three services at a 42% savings. HBO Max by itself is normally $16.99, so at least when you sign up for the bundle, you're getting three services for the price of one. It doesn't let you password share, but it does grant you access to thousands of hours of TV shows and movies at a pretty reasonable price. We have no idea how long this bundle will last, so sign up now while you can. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to Joseph Rejent covers TV, writing about live television, streaming services and cord-cutting. He can be reached at jrejent@ Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
HBO Max will crack down on password sharing starting next month
Max intends to aggressively crack down on password sharing. The company, which has given users the option to pay an additional $8 per month to share passwords outside the home will begin to make that fee mandatory starting in September. The watch party is over for people who have been freeloading on their subscription to HBO Max. Warner Bros. Discovery says it will begin to more aggressively going after people share passwords on a recent earnings call. People who insist on adding viewers outside of their household will be asked to pay an additional $7.99 per month. That fee has actually been in place for a while, but the restrictions haven't been strongly enforced. That ends at the end of August, said WBD Streaming Chief JB Perrette. The company, Perrette said, has been testing for months to determine 'who's a legitimate user who may not be a legitimate user.' With that determined, he said, 'we are putting the net in the right place, so to speak.' Warner Bros. Discovery has been threatening a crackdown on password sharing for over a year. The enforcement will follow Netflix's decision to put an end to password sharing in 2023 and a similar action in February 2024 by Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+. Disney CEO Bob Iger said the issue was 'a real priority' in an earnings call with analysts in 2023. Password sharing has become a problem for all streaming services and could cost the industry up to $25 billion a year, according to a Citibank report. Netflix said in 2022 that more than 100 million households are using accounts paid for by other people. Crackdowns drive subscriptions, though. Netflix saw a big surge in sign-ups after it prohibited the sharing of user passwords. Subscriber growth in the quarter following the action saw 5.9 million new users, nearly three times what analysts had estimated. This story was originally featured on Solve the daily Crossword
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
HBO Max: The Password Sharing Crackdown Is About To Begin
HBO Max is one of the latest streaming platforms to take action against people sharing passwords, from next month. Here's everything you need to know. It's been two-and-a-half years since the password sharing crackdown was announced for Netflix, which resulted in more subscriptions, the company said. Now, HBO Max is about to up its game with prompts to persuade subscribers to pay an extra monthly fee to add another person to their account. According to The Verge, ' 'In September, you'll actually start to see the messaging — which right now has been a fairly soft, cancelable messaging — start to get more fixed and such that people have to take action,' Warner Bros. Discovery streaming head JB Perette said. That's a change from what's been describes as a voluntary process right now. The move to cracking down on sharers was announced last year but from next month it will drive paid sharing 'in a much more aggressive fashion,' Perette said. The sharing fee, $7.99 a month, allows a subscriber to add one more person to their account, and that extra person gets their own account, password and profile. Only one person can be added. HBO Max with ads is $9.99 a month, so not much more than the sharing fee. However, sharing brings a benefit: if the person is sharing the account of someone on the Premium plan with 4K streaming, that's what the sharer gets. And since that plan normally costs $20.99 a month, it's a more affordable way to get the best service. 'HBO Max will use account information, IP address, device ID, and user activity to determine if accounts are used by people in more than one household,' MacRumors reports. From there, cracking down on multiple households will be straightforward. 'Warner Bros. Discovery execs expect paid sharing to boost subscriber growth, which Netflix reported following its clampdown,' The Verge points out. Indeed, Perrette has previously said about password sharing crackdowns, 'Netflix has implemented extremely successfully. We're going to be doing that starting later this year and into '25, which is another growth opportunity for us.' All that said, there's evidence that customers are becoming more choosy in their subscriptions, so how it will work for HBO Max is still to be seen.
The Independent
4 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Streaming service set to block you from password sharing
Warner Bros. Discovery's streaming service, HBO Max, is preparing to implement an "aggressive" crackdown on password sharing. JB Perrette, CEO and President of Global Streaming and Interactive for WBD, indicated the company aims to close the password sharing loophole by the end of the year, with financial benefits anticipated from the fourth quarter and fully by 2026. This strategy follows the successful model of Netflix, which reported significant revenue increases after implementing its own password sharing restrictions. Disney+ also announced plans in 2024 to curb password sharing, citing Netflix's positive financial outcomes as a key motivator. Several users praised the company's business strategy, while others complained that despite Netflix's increasing revenue the quality of their product is declining.
The Verge
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Verge
HBO Max is going to get even more annoying about password sharing
HBO Max's password-sharing crackdown is about to get stricter. During an earnings call on Thursday, Warner Bros. Discovery streaming head JB Perette said prompts surrounding account sharing will become more persistent starting next month, pushing people toward paying an extra $7.99 per month to add an extra member to their account. 'In September, you'll actually start to see the messaging — which right now has been a fairly soft, cancelable messaging — start to get more fixed and such that people have to take action,' Perette said, adding that right now, paid sharing is 'a voluntary process.' Following password-sharing crackdowns at Netflix and Disney Plus, Warner Bros. Discovery announced its own plan to introduce paid sharing last year. So far, HBO Max has introduced 'soft messaging' surrounding the change, but it hasn't begun to strictly enforce the policy. The streamer added 3.4 million subscribers in the months following its debrand from Max to HBO Max, and it will begin driving paid sharing 'in a much more aggressive fashion' later this year, according to Perette. HBO Max currently uses account information, IP addresses, device IDs, and user activity to determine if someone is sharing their account with a person outside their household. Warner Bros. Discovery execs expect paid sharing to boost subscriber growth, which Netflix reported following its clampdown. But as subscription fatigue continues to grow, making people pay to share their passwords might not go over smoothly with subscribers. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Emma Roth Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Entertainment Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All HBO Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Streaming
