(Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Max, formerly known as HBO Max, is the latest streaming service to warn of a crackdown on account sharing, following Netflix and Disney.
The head of Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming business, JB Perrette, says the move is intended to boost Max's revenues.
“And password sharing crackdown—which, obviously, Netflix has implemented extremely successfully—we're going to be doing that starting later this year and into [2025], which is another growth opportunity for us,” he said at a Morgan Stanley tech conference on Monday.
The goal is to convert freeloaders into paying subscribers at a time when Warner Bros. Discovery has been bleeding cash, resulting in a $400 million loss in Q4.
“I'm conscious of not over-selling it, because you see Netflix's success [with its account-sharing crackdown], but Netflix was in market for 17 years,” Perrette said. “That means people are sharing passwords for 17 years.
“We've been in market for four [years], if you count the HBO Max launch,” he added. “And obviously, we're not quite at the same scale. But...relative to the scale of our business, it's a meaningful opportunity.”
This comes a month after Disney’s Hulu and Disney+ also changed their privacy policies to restrict account-sharing. The growing crackdown may annoy some users. But Warner Bros. Discovery is betting subscribers will stick around to watch anticipated shows, such as Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon, which will air its second season starting in June.
The company currently has 97.7 million subscribers to its streaming and cable services, including Max, HBO, and Discovery+. That's only slightly up from 95.1 million subscribers in Q3.