If you have an HBO Max account and have shared your password with a few friends, that free experience is coming to an end. Warner Bros. Discovery Channel head of streaming and games JB Perrette said the company will take more "aggressive" steps.
So far, the company has sent a softer, cancelable message to users it identifies as "high usage." This gentle approach is a simple warning to let the worst offenders know changes are coming, but won't immediately cut them off from viewing"House of the Dragon"Or the rights to shows like The Last of Us. However, the real crackdown is set to begin next month and will continue to intensify throughout the rest of the year.
If you're wondering why this is happening now, well, Netflix's success lies in it. A month after cracking down on illegal content, the streaming giant's total new users in the U.S. increased by more than 128.9%, adding nearly 3.5 million new registered users in June 2023 alone. By the end of 2023, the company had added 13.1 million new subscribers in the past three months alone. Warner Bros. Discovery Channel has apparently noticed this and wants a piece of the pie.
JB Perrette claims that after months of testing detection filters, the company can now determine who is a legitimate user and differentiate between actual travel and account sharing.
The company will take stronger measures starting in the fourth quarter of this year (October to December), when it will act on the information it receives. The company believes its system can accurately identify password thieves without causing losses to paying customers who are on vacation.
Warner Bros. Discovery plans to provide "free users" with a legal way to pay, and in April this year launched an "additional membership add-on" that will cost $7.99 per month. This add-on service allows non-household users to have their own profile and login under the main account, directly converting borrowers into paying users.