The cost of using multiple subscription services like Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, and HBO is quite expensive, so most people try to offset that cost by sharing passwords with their friends, partners, roommates, and family members. It’s much cheaper than paying $50+ a month just to watch your favorite shows and movies across these competing platforms. The same goes for those who don’t have cable but want to stay up to date with their favorite shows that aren’t available on streaming services yet. However, cable companies are pretty annoyed that people are basically cheating them out of additional money.
Bloomberg reports that Charter Communications is looking to crackdown on those who are obtaining content without paying for it through shared passwords alongside other major players in the industry. Charter has reportedly reached out to Viacom (Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, MTV) to begin this virtual manhunt by reducing the number of screens can be streamed to simultaneously and forcing more frequent logins.
ESPN has already begun participating by reducing their simultaneous screens from ten to five and they’re considering going all the way down to three.
“It’s piracy. It’s people consuming something they haven’t paid for. The more the practice is viewed with a shrug, the more it creates a dynamic where people believe it’s acceptable. And it’s not.” ESPN Executive Vice President Justin Connolly said to Bloomberg.
Bloomberg goes on to report that the industry has lost up to $3.5 billion in 2017 alone and it’s expected to steadily decrease to $10 billion by 2021. Netflix weighed in on the issue last year with CEO David Wells suggesting that kicking off people who don’t pay won’t exactly persuade them into handing over their credit card.
“If they don’t use [the service] within the terms of use, we’re not happy. We could crack down on it, but you wouldn’t suddenly turn them all into paid users.”
It’s definitely a hard issue to solve. Even though many of us are guilty of it, it is a definite problem. If users get booted off of their platform for not paying, they could just turn to the more traditional form of piracy and go to torrent sites to watch the newest episode of Game of Thrones or whatnot. In the evergrowing digital age, it’s a problem that will likely continue to spiral out of control.
