Key Takeaways
- Max is about to begin a crackdown on password-sharing.
- The crackdown is similar to what Netflix and Disney+ have done, signaling major changes in the way we share our streaming accounts.
- Max continues to see growth in subscribers, with the service adding 7.2 million subscribers in the last quarter, and now totaling 110.5 million subscribers
Remember the good ol’ days when you could let your friend or relative borrow your Netflix or Disney+ account to watch a show or movie? Those days are long gone and now, it looks like Max will be joining almost every other streaming service and starting its own password-sharing crackdown over the next few months.
Gunnar Wiedenfels, CFO of Warner Bros. Discovery, said the crackdown will come in phases beginning in 2025 and continuing through 2026. So, enjoy the last few months of sharing or borrowing Max while you can.
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Max announced its crackdown earlier this year
It’s taking a page out of Netflix’s and Disney’s playbook
BoliviaInteligente / Unsplash / Pocket-lint
JB Perrette, Warner Bros. Discovery’s head of global streaming and games, announced earlier this year in March that Max would be doing what Disney+ did when it announced it was cracking down on password-sharing, by sending out emails to customers notifying them of the changes first.
Disney+ added an “Extra Member” option, which allows users to pay more to allow someone outside their household to use their Disney+ account. Netflix also added the option to pay to add an extra member to your account too. It seems like Max will follow this approach also, with Wiedenfels saying the company is “asking members who have not signed up, or multi-household members to pay a little bit more.”
It will be interesting to see how these impeding changes impact Max’s subscriber base. Max currently has 110.5 million subscribers, and added 7.2 million members this quarter according to its third quarter earning report. Max is probably hoping its password-sharing crackdown helps grow its subscriber base, like it did for Netflix.
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