Summary
- Warner Bros. Discovery plans to aggressively end password sharing by the end of the year.
- Only Paramount+, Starz, Peacock, and a few niche streamers currently allow password sharing.
- The rise in streaming subscribers has led to cracking down on password sharing across major services.
Streaming services have been cracking down on sharing accounts ever since Netflix kicked everyone off their parents’ account in 2023, and HBO Max recently announced that they will be joining the fray, with Deadline reporting earlier today that JB Perrette, head of streaming and gaming at Warner Bros. Discovery said on the company’s second-quarter earnings call that their efforts to end password sharing was set to get more “aggressive,” with the goal being to functionally end password sharing by the end of the year.
According to Perrette, the company is in the process of determining “who’s a legitimate user who may not be a legitimate user,” and then “turn on the more aggressive language around what needs to happen” for password-sharers to continue to access the service.
This is similar to plans in place at Netflix, Disney+ and other streamers that do not allow password sharing. Though Netflix initially saw a substantial bump in subscriber numbers after it ended password sharing, the effect on other streamers isn’t immediately quantifiable, in large part because the reporting of subscriber numbers has also been dwindling.
As of this morning, Warner Bros. Discovery is continuing to grow in the streaming world, adding 3.4 million streaming subscribers (mostly via international expansion) during their most recent quarter to reach 125.7 million overall.
Which streaming services still allow password sharing?
It’s a pretty small list
NBC/Peacock
Currently, the only major streaming services that still allow password sharing are Paramount+, Starz and Peacock. Niche streamers like Philio, Shudder, the Critereon Channel, Kanopy, Dropout and Acorn TV all also currently allow password sharing right now. However, as more and more major players continue to crack down on password sharing, it seems reasonable to expect that password sharing will simply come to a complete end at some point.
The wind down of password sharing truly feels like the end of an era. I’m old enough to remember “Love is sharing a password” but I guess, according to Netflix’s own definition, love has been dead for some time.
