Prepare yourself to bid farewell to streaming for free. In a development bound to come as unwelcome news to many, HBO Max will soon become “aggressive” in cracking down on password sharing from September. The Warner Bros. Discovery-owned platform will take a leaf out of Netflix’s and Disney+’s books by making users who do not reside in the primary household either obtain their own account or pay extra.
As per Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming head JB Perrette, it has taken months of data collection to determine who is a ‘legitimate user’ and is prepared to crack down on harder lines. The platform so far has been using ‘soft, cancelable’ messaging asking for payment but that will end soon. Next month, users who are riding on their friend or family member’s account will need to ‘take action’ and either sign up for a new account or be added as an ‘Extra Member.’
For the subscriber, it means spending an additional £7.99 per month to maintain their loved ones in their streams. While most will be annoyed by the move, Perrette said the company hopes the crackdown will drive subscriber growth, similar to what Netflix did when it introduced the same policy.
The move is an important pivot for the streaming world as companies look to monetise every possible viewer. It’s a long way from the early streaming days when password sharing wasn’t just fine but sometimes even actively promoted. With streaming prices on the rise and ad-supported levels increasing, perhaps some will be tempted to return to the radically retro solution of shelling out for cable.
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