Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

People sharing streaming passwords is costing the industry $500 million a year

Are you using someone else’s Netflix or HBO Go password? Then you might owe part of the $500 million that credential sharing cost the streaming industry last year

According to a report from market research firm Parks Associates, some 6 percent of U.S. households are piggybacking off of other people’s accounts for streaming services (i.e. Netflix, HBO Go, Amazon Prim, Hulu, etc.).

“Live-streaming usage has garnered media attention recently, but credential sharing is also a popular form of piracy in the connected world, one that has received varying responses from service providers and content owners,” said Glenn Hower, a research analyst at Parks Associates. “Credential sharing has a measurable impact on video services, particularly in the OTT [over-the-top] video service area, where young subscribers are active. The impact on OTT video revenues is especially troublesome as OTT providers are investing large sums of money to boost their original content offerings.”

From the article "People sharing streaming passwords is costing the industry $500 million a year" by Scott Sutton.

Previously In The News

Feds break up alleged streaming password theft scheme

Netflix and other streaming services have dealt with a variety of password-stealing schemes and other scams for years. Netflix announced earlier this year it was trying to crack down on password-shari...

Why Cell Phone Service From Your Cable Company May Make Sense

"Plans from Xfinity Mobile and Spectrum Mobile are generally much less expensive than comparable plans from the major mobile brands," says Kristen Hanich, senior analyst at the market research firm Pa...

One Bot To Rule Them All? Not Likely, With Apple, Google, Amazon And Microsoft Virtual Assistants

In order for a virtual helpmate to run your life, it needs to engage with the providers of all the services you rely on, from your calendar app to your Uber ride. Those providers must either partner w...

Everyone Is Sharing Passwords And Streaming Services Know It

While it doesn’t appear that streaming networks are going to crack down on sharing just yet, that could change if revenue from subscriptions decrease. In fact, industry analyst Parks Associates tel...