Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has confirmed it'll start clamping down on Max account sharing before the end of the year.
After the huge success of Netflix's password crackdown scheme, the world's biggest studios have piled on the bandwagon with the aim of securing new users (and squeezing money out of them) to boost their revenue streams.
We already knew that Disney Plus and Hulu were following Netflix's password crackdown lead, with the streaming titans set to follow suit with their own scheme before 2024 ends. Now, Max – WBD's super streamer replacement for HBO Max – is also preparing to stop you and I from sharing accounts with our families and friends.
Speaking during an event at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference, WBD's streaming head J.B. Perrette confirmed the entertainment behemoth plans to introduce its own password clampdown plan in the coming months. The news comes almost three weeks after Max finally launched in its first non-US territory and 10 days after Max was confirmed to arrive in the UK and Australia in a few years' time.
"We’re launching [Max] in a bunch of European markets as we go into the second and third quarter," Perette told the assembled crowd. "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."
"You see Netflix’s success, but Netflix was in market for 17 years. That means people were sharing passwords for 17 years. We’ve been in the market for four, if you count the HBO Max launch. Obviously, we’re not quite at the same scale, but relative to the scale of our business, it’s a meaningful opportunity."
If you were planning on streaming some of the best Max movies and best Max shows for free sometime soon, then, you'll want to do so ASAP before you're locked out of your family or friends' accounts.
A subscription hop, skip, and a jump
With Max set to deliver more password crackdown pain to customers – it's the fourth of the world's best streaming services to confirm it'll clamp down on account sharing – very soon, subscription hopping becomes a much more appealing proposition.
Indeed, with Max, Disney Plus, and Hulu due to follow Netflix's lead in the months to come, I'm convinced we'll see more people jump between services in the near future. People are already doing so but, with another Netflix price hike set to arrive this year – I expect its rivals to raise their subscription costs, too – something has to give. Weighed up against other necessities like food and heating bills, your subscriptions to the aforementioned streamers, plus others like Prime Video, are going to be the fall guys.
Need more information on what subscription hopping is and where you should begin? We've put together a handy guide on how to start subscription hopping in 2024, which breaks down everything from what it actually is to which platforms you should pay for – based on the potentially great movie and TV show content they'll provide – in March and April. We plan on regularly updating this article throughout the year, too, to give you advice on which streaming service you should subscribe to in any given month.
I also recommend that you check out our best streaming deals guide at the start of every month. Admittedly, there aren't many great deals to be had throughout the year, but you can find the odd one now and then, and they're usually too good to turn down. Right now, UK and Europe-based readers can grab Disney Plus for a ridiculously cheap £1.99 / €1.99 a month (for a three-month plan, mind you). Be quick, though, because the deal expires on March 14. So, if you're a Swiftie who can't wait to watch Taylor Swift's Eras Tour on Disney's primary streamer, or simply want to binge all of the Marvel content on the platform, act fast.
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- Get some kid-friendly film recommendations in our best Max family movies guide
