Warner Bros. Discovery's Max streaming service has announced a new U.S. product update introducing an Extra Member Add-On feature.

The new feature provides existing subscribers greater flexibility and control over how they manage the sharing of their Max accounts. It includes the capability to transfer an adult profile to the extra member account for $7.99 a month. The feature is available for all subscription tiers in the U.S.

The launch on Max follows the successful rollout of a similar feature on Netflix that was part of the streamer’s antipiracy crackdown on shared accounts. That effort allowed Netflix to boost revenues.

“Extra Member Add-On and Profile Transfer are two key Max advancements designed to help viewers with a new way to enjoy our best-in-class content at an exceptional value, and offer subscribers greater flexibility in managing their accounts,” said JB Perrette, CEO and president, Global Streaming and Games, Warner Bros. Discovery. “These updates provide a simple way for subscribers to add-on a new member to their account, or for existing subscribers who have users outside of their household to smoothly, and in an uninterrupted fashion, transition their profile so that extra member can continue to access Max.”

More specifically, the Extra Member Add-On allows a primary account owner to share their Max account by inviting a friend or family member outside of their household to create a separate, standalone account with an adult profile under the same subscription. These Extra Members will have their own login credentials separate from the primary account. Extra members can stream from one profile on one device at a time and can enjoy all other benefits included in the primary account owner’s base plan. Extra Member Add-On is limited to one add-on per account.

This feature costs $7.99 a month regardless of which tier an eligible user is subscribed to and is currently available to users who subscribe directly to Max. That means it excludes bundle subscribers who might be getting the streaming service as part of a larger programming package.

Those who wish to take advantage of an Extra Member Add-On can purchase it directly from the Max subscription settings. Once an Extra Member Add-On is purchased, account owners can invite and manage their extra member via settings on web and mobile.

When an account owner invites an Extra Member to create an account, they can choose to transfer a single adult profile, bringing the watch history, recommendations, and settings associated with that profile over to their new Max account.

More information is available here.

DURHAM, N.H.—While streaming video services like Netflix have worked to rein in password sharing, a new study from Leichtman Research Group (LRG) reveals nearly one-quarter of all the direct-to-consumer VOD streaming services measured are being shared by more than one household.

“Password sharing continues to be prevalent throughout the streaming video industry, despite recent efforts to limit it. This study found that 10% of all DTC services are borrowed from someone else, down from 12% in 2022,” said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for LRG. “Overall, 20% of households have at least one DTC service that is paid for by another household.”

Published in LRG’s new “Internet-Delivered TV Services 2024” study, its seventh annual, the research focuses on vMVPDs (virtual Multichannel Video Programming Distributors) and other DTC streaming video services.

On the plus side for service providers, of the households that subscribe to the 15 top DTC video-on-demand services LRG measured, 53% have signed up for four or more services. Nearly three out of four of them fully pay for those services and do not share them with those outside their households, the research found.

The study reveals that among the 23% of all DTC services used by more than one household: 11% are used and paid for by those who also share the with someone outside their home; 10% are used in one household but borrowed from another household paying for the service; and 2% are used by multiple households that share costs, it found. 

The research also found 4% of DTC services are not paid for because they are bundled with another service.

Subscription borrowing was more prevalent among younger respondents. A total of 17% of all DTC services are borrowed by those ages 18 to 34, compared to 7% among those 35 and older. The younger cohort accounts for 59% of all DTC services borrowed by an adult, according to the findings.

The efforts of Netflix to combat service borrowing appear to be paying off as just 10% using the service borrow it from someone else—down for 15% in 2022, it found.

Other findings of the research include:

• Among adults ages 18-44, the mean number of DTC services is 5.1, compared to four among ages 45-54, and 2.8 among those 55 and older.
• 6% of all households in the past year had Netflix, but currently do not—the is true for Hulu and the live pay-TV category.
• Adults 18-to-44-year-old adults account for 57% of all those with a vMVPD pay-TV service.
• 72% of vMVPD subscribers are very satisfied with their service, which is down from 79% in 2022.
• 22% of all vMVPD services are shared by multiple households, including 8% of all vMVPD services that are fully paid for by someone outside the household.

The findings are based on an online survey of 2,546 U.S. adults 18 years of age and older. It was conducted in February, and the online sample has a statistical margin of error of +/- 1.9%. 

More information is available on the company’s website. 

BARCELONA—NPAW has introduced new anti-account sharing and playback-resuming solutions to its suite of analytics apps. 

The new Share Blocker solution gives subscription-based OTT services full control over their users’ account sharing to protect their source of revenue. PlayHead Tracker is an cross-device bookmarking solution for existing users that enhances the video playback experience and significantly increases customer satisfaction, NPAW said. 

“Tackling abusive account sharing and ensuring a smooth viewing experience are both high on the priority list for OTT providers,” assured Ruben Senor-Megias, chief sales officer of NPAW. ”We are committed to providing services with all the tools they need to face the industry’s evolving challenges, and these new two tools are yet one more example of that.”

Designed to eliminate unauthorized account sharing and service abuse in OTT subscription services, the NPAW Suite’s new Share Blocker app enables advanced account management strategies that promote security and fairness for all users, the company reported. 

With custom profile creation and advanced monitoring, services can effortlessly define and enforce the maximum number of in-house users, IPs, and concurrent sessions for each type of user account.

On the other hand, the new PlayHead Tracker app solves inconsistent and unreliable video playback resumption across devices, enhancing customer satisfaction and retention. NPAW’s 5-second beat provides users with an unparalleled average resume accuracy of 2.5 seconds, while the tool’s fully-developed, low-latency API ensures minimal impact on video playback startup times. A hassle-free integration requires minimal effort to incorporate the tool into existing services, NPAW said. 

The solutions will be on display at CABSAT 2023 at the booth of the company’s partner, MAAS World (#S1 - E21, Dubai World Trade Center). Book a meeting here. 

DALLAS—Pay-TV and OTT operators in the U.S. took a hit of $9.1 billion in 2019 due to consumers sharing accounts and pirating content, according to a report from Parks Associates. Looking forward, Parks says that it expects the value of pirate video services to exceed $67 billion worldwide by 2023.

A 2019 Parks Associates report detailed U.S. operators’ $9.1 billion loss revenue in 2019, about which $2.5 billion was lost directly because of pirating; across North America, pirating generated $8.4 billion in losses. Pirating methods that Parks highlighted in its report include theft of video content from production, from distribution, from jail-broken consumer devices and from hosting by other pirates.

However, Parks found that the most antipiracy efforts in the U.S. focus on detecting and reducing credential sharing and account abuse. A Parks survey of U.S. broadband homes found 5% used someone else’s credentials to access a pay-TV service, while 6% did so to access an online video service. Another report from Hub detailed how prevalent password sharing is, particularly among teens and young adults, 80% of which have said they have shared or have used a shared password for streaming services.

“Credential sharing falls into two categories,” said Steven Hawley, contributing analyst at Parks Associates. “Most sharing is casual, with no intent to profit. But the bigger risk is from pirates that purchase large stolen consumer databases via the ‘Dark Web’ and use automation to discover penetrable end user accounts.”

Overall, Parks says that 12.5 million pay-TV households accessed pirated video in the U.S. in 2019, but that number is still low compared to the Asia and Pacific region.

The full “Video Piracy: Ecosystem, Risks and Impact” report is available online.