The sharing of streaming video subscription passwords became a laughing matter during last week's Emmy Awards, but the funny business could eventually become a problem for video providers.

Credentials such as an email address and a password are needed to access video services, including Netflix and Hulu. And, in general, those credentials are intended to be used only by family members within a household.

But additional unauthorized sharing of credentials will likely cost broadband-delivered video services $500 million this year, according to a recent report from Parks Associates. For now, most video providers tend to look the other way.

From the article "Cutting the Cord: What's so wrong about sharing streaming video passwords?" by Mike Snider.