Max Wants to Kill Password Sharing, Unless You're Willing to Pay
1 min read
Summary
Warner Bros Discovery has introduced an Extra Member Add-On feature to its HBO Max streaming service, allowing primary account holders to invite friends or family members living outside their household to create a separate account, for an additional $7.99/month fee in the US, providing they only stream on one device at a time.
Although the company suggests this new feature offers “greater flexibility”, it is clearly positioned as a way to crack down on password sharing.
Those who don’t want to pay the additional fee, or who are not willing to pay for friends and family members, could face more pressure to adopt the new feature in the future, a resemble policy to that of Netflix and Disney+.
The move comes as streaming services face mounting pressure to improve profitability, with slowing subscriber growth and inflation-related cost increases.
Disney disappointed investors with its Q1 results, admitting that Disney+ had seen its slowest subscriber growth since its launch.
