HBO Max will begin cracking down on password sharing later this year, using a proven playbook created by Netflix.
Owner Warner Bros. Discovery will block people sharing passwords outside their homes starting this fall in a bid to boost flagging viewership.
The timing coincides with the release of a strong lineup of series, including the new season of House of the Dragon and Dune: Prophecy.
Max’s crackdown is similar to what Netflix did in 2023: account holders can add additional members for a fee. But to make it more cost-effective, the price of additional people will be much lower than a whole new subscription.
Max has yet to confirm what it will be, but it is understood that it will be less than $9.99, according to Bloomberg.
That’s the price Max – formerly known as HBO Max – charges for its ad-supported tier. The other two options cost $15.99 ad-free for two devices at a time and $19.99 for four devices at the same time.
HBO Max will begin cracking down on password sharing later this year, using a proven playbook created by Netflix
This comes as Netflix recorded its fastest growth in years, thanks to its ban on account sharing.
But frustrated followers took to social media to criticize Max’s decision.
“I knew all these greedy companies would eventually crack down on password sharing after Netflix,” one user wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Another wrote: “The streaming bubble is about to burst and they are panicking. »
One Netflix user called the services’ crackdown “super annoying.”
Netflix offers “Additional Member Slots” to subscribers who want to share their account with people outside their household for an additional $7.99 each.
Or they can create their own account entirely – for $6.99 per month with ads, or $15.49 without ads.
Despite backlash over its decision to crack down on password sharing, the streamer solidified its place as the world’s most popular service in the first quarter of this year.
It added 9.3 million subscribers in the first three months of 2024, more than double the gains Wall Street analysts expected.
Netflix had more than 100 million people borrowing and sharing accounts, according to Bloomberg, which allowed it to convert millions of people into paying customers.
Max, however, which hosts shows such as Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon, doesn’t have the same potential numbers.
In recent years, Warner Bros. Discovery has rebranded the streaming service HBO, HBO Max and now Max, spending billions on marketing and additional programming.
Max is home to shows including Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon
Netflix said it added 13 million new subscribers last year, with password “borrowers” forced to create their own accounts.
But the number of domestic subscribers has fallen to 52 million, fewer than seven years ago.
The company said that was partly because HBO lost customers who signed up through cord-cutting cable companies.
Earlier this year, Jean-Briac Perrette, CEO and President of Global Streaming for Warner Bros. Discovery, said limiting password sharing was a “significant opportunity” for the company “relative to the scale of our business.”
“I’m conscious not to oversell it because you see the success of Netflix, but Netflix was in the market for 17 years. That means people have been sharing their passwords for 17 years,” he said. “We’ve been in the market for four years, if you count the launch of HBO Max.”
The service currently charges $9.99 per month for its service with ads and $15.99 without ads.
The option to add additional members will cost less than the ad-supported subscription, Bloomberg reported.
Earlier this year, Jean-Briac Perrette, CEO and President of Global Streaming for Warner Bros. Discovery, said limiting password sharing was a “significant opportunity” for the company “relative to the scale of our business.”
The vast majority of streaming platforms have seen their prices increase over the past year – up to 43% for some.
Connection sharing has long been a cost-cutting tactic for streaming service users.
Other streaming services have also taken action against this system, aiming to increase subscriber numbers amid growing competition in the market.
U.S. streaming subscriber growth halved in 2023, according to data from research firm Antenna.
The study found that growth slowed to 10.1% last year, compared to 21.6% in 2022.
The Disney-owned Hulu service warned subscribers earlier this year that it would crack down on sharing accounts with people outside the user’s household starting in March.
The new agreements – also sent to customers of Disney+ and sports streamer ESPN+ – now explicitly prevent “impersonating” a subscriber using their name and password.
Users called the move “trash” on social media – pledging to cancel their subscriptions due to the corporate crackdown, while also raising prices.
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