We just learned more about Max’s crackdown on password sharing – and more price hikes are coming
Crackdown on password sharing – they’re the three words that users of the top streaming services fear, because such crackdowns mean they can’t share their account with friends or family as cheaply or easily. Disney and Netflix have already implemented their password restrictions – much to everyone’s chagrin – and now Max is preparing to restrict them too.
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) confirmed its intentions to undermine passwords in March this year, but at the time WBD’s streaming head JB Perrette only vaguely said the process would start “later this year.” Now WBD CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels has said the process will begin this year with “very soft messaging,” which he described as “asking members who haven’t signed up, or members of multiple households, to pay a little more .”
This softball start – which was discussed during the company’s recent Q3 earnings call (via The edge) – follows in the footsteps of the approach that Netflix and Disney originally took. They first started encouraging people to sign up for their own accounts in a few regions, before imposing tighter restrictions everywhere as time went on.
While there’s no confirmation on what the final stages of Max’s password suppression will look like, we expect Max will continue to follow Disney and Netflix until users are left with three options: leave the streamer, pay for their own account, or pay to add an additional user on another account.
Price increases are also coming
Such account sharing restrictions are a carrot-and-stick approach without the carrot – and Max may well have an extra stick, because while Wiedenfels described this crackdown as “a form of price gouging,” he added later added that there was still “a fair price”. There is plenty of room to continue to raise a price that we have been sensible about.”
So you may soon have to pay not just for your own Max account, but for the privilege.
As always, we wonder if and when the camel’s back will break. When Netflix announced password sharing plans we thought it could be the end of the streamer, but financially it’s now doing better than ever – so it’s no surprise that Disney and now Max would follow suit after the threats of mass cancellations rang hollow.
It feels like there will still come a point where users say enough is enough, but until then expect the crackdown on password sharing and price hikes to continue. And if you’re thinking of saying goodbye to Max, check out our list of the best Max shows to watch before you sign off.
