Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) is set to follow suit with the strategy to combat account sharing already implemented by Netflix and Disney+. According to the announcement made by WBD President of Global Streaming and Games JB Perrette when the company reported its third quarter 2024 financial results, the plan is to start in the fourth quarter of the current year.
“We will kick off some very soft messaging later this quarter around password sharing and that as we kick into ‘25 and into ’26 you’ll see more and more progress on that,” noted Perrette. During the remainder of this year, Max will begin to send notices to those subscribers who are sharing their accounts with people not living in the same household and then, between 2025 and 2026, out-of-household users will be required either to pay an additional charge or to sign in to a new account.
The executive then explained: “…in effect is a form of a price rise as well as asking members who have not signed up or multi-household members to pay a little bit more.”
After kicking off its strategy in 2022, Netflix stepped it up in 2023. Disney+ followed suit in 2024, though it has not implemented the crackdown in all its territories yet.
