HBO slammed by customers in US for copying Netflix's 'most-hated' feature

HBO Max will start cracking down on password sharing later this year, using a tried and tested playbook created by Netflix. 

Owner Warner Bros. Discovery will block people sharing passwords outside their household as soon as this fall in a bid to boost dwindling viewership.

The timing coincides with the release of a strong slate of shows, including the new season of House of the Dragon and Dune: Prophecy. 

Max's crackdown resembles what Netflix did in 2023 - whereby account holders can add extra members for a cost. But to make it better value the price of extra people will be much lower than a whole new subscription. 

Max has not yet confirmed what this will be but it is understood it will be less than $9.99, according to Bloomberg.

That is the price Max - formerly known as HBO Max  - charges for its ad-supported tier. The other two options are $15.99 for ad-free for two devices at once, and $19.99 for four devices at the same time. 

HBO Max will start cracking down on password sharing later this year, using a tried and tested playbook created by Netflix

It comes as Netflix has posted its fastest growth in years, thanks to its ban on account sharing. 

But frustrated subscribers have taken to social media to slam the decision by Max. 

'I knew all these greedy companies would eventually crackdown on password sharing after Netflix,' one user wrote on X, formerly Twitter. 

Another wrote: 'The streaming bubble is about to burst and they are freaking out.' 

A Netflix user described the services crackdown as 'super annoying'.  

Netflix offers 'extra member slots' to subscribers who want to share their account with people outside their household for an additional $7.99 each.

Or they can set up their own account entirely - for $6.99 a month with ads, or $15.49 without ads.

Despite backlash to its decision to crack down on password sharing, the streamer cemented its place as the most popular service in the world in the first quarter of this year. 

It added 9.3 million subscribers in the first three months of 2024 - more than twice the gains expected by Wall Street analysts.

Netflix had more than 100 million people who were borrowing and sharing accounts, according to Bloomberg, so it has been able to convert millions into paying customers. 

Max, however, which is home to shows including Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon, does not have the same potential number. 

In recent years, Warner Bros. Discovery has rebranded the streaming service as HBO, HBO Max, and now Max - spending billions on marketing and additional programming. 

Max is home to shows including Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon

Netflix announced it added 13 million new subscribers last year as password 'borrowers' were forced to create their own accounts

But the number of domestic subscribers has shrunk to 52 million - fewer than they had seven years ago.

The company said this is in part due to HBO losing customers who signed up via cable providers cutting the cord.

Earlier this year CEO and President of Global Streaming for Warner Bros. Discovery, Jean-Briac Perrette, said curbing password sharing was a 'meaningful opportunity' for the company 'relative to the scale of our business.'

'I'm conscious of not overselling it because you see Netflix's success, but Netflix was in the market for 17 years. That means people are sharing passwords for 17 years,' he said. 'We've been in the market for four, if you count the HBO Max launch.' 

The service currently charges $9.99 a month for its service with ads, and $15.99 without ads. 

The option to add extra members will cost less than the subscription with ads, Bloomberg reported. 

Earlier this year CEO and President of Global Streaming for Warner Bros. Discovery, Jean-Briac Perrette, said curbing password sharing was a 'meaningful opportunity' for the company 'relative to the scale of our business'

The vast majority of streaming platforms have increased in price in the last year - some by as much as 43 percent

Sharing logins has long been a cost-cutting tactic for users of streaming services. 

Other streaming services have also cracked down on it - in a bid to boost subscribers amid increasing competition in the market.

Streaming subscriber growth in the US halved in 2023, according to data from research firm Antenna. 

It found growth slowed to 10.1 percent last year from 21.6 percent in 2022.  

Disney-owned service Hulu warned subscribers earlier this year that it would crack down on sharing accounts with people outside of the user's household starting in March. 

The new agreements  - also sent to customers of Disney+ and sports streamer ESPN+ - now explicitly prevent 'impersonating' a subscriber by using their name and password. 

Users slammed the move as 'trash' on social media - pledging to cancel their subscriptions as a result of companies cracking down, while hiking prices.