Max subscribers, take note: Warner Bros Discovery has its eye on password sharing.
JB Perrette, WBD's CEO and head of global streaming and gaming, said Tuesday that the service will start sending small reminders to its subs next week about giving out their login information to strangers. Speaking at the Wells Fargo TMT Summit in Rancho Palos Verde, California, Perrett said some Max subscribers will start receiving “some very nice early messages” about sharing passwords in the next week or so.
“It's an art and science to try to tighten the filter of what's there. We'll start some early messaging with some people who we think are at the top level of usage. We'll introduce a way to basically add a member, starting in the first quarter. We'll then start gradually as we get the data and start to figure out how much “Our knack for detection, using some explicit and implicit signals and then, as we get through '25, you'll see the filters get tighter.”
The move follows moves by rival streamers. Disney+ first said last year that it would consider sharing passwords for its customers. It announced the campaign last spring and revealed details of its plans in September. Hulu has followed in its sister company's footsteps.
Streaming company Netflix began testing ways to limit password sharing again in 2021 and implemented a “paid sharing” plan last year. The streaming company said in June 2023 that it had seen an increase in subscriptions amid the crackdown.
