MOVIE NEWS – One of the world’s most popular streaming platforms is about to get a lot tougher to share. HBO Max will soon follow in the footsteps of Netflix, Disney+, and others, rolling out a hardline campaign against password sharing. If you’ve been splitting your account with friends or family, it’s time to say goodbye: Warner Bros. Discovery is putting an end to the loophole.

According to Deadline, Warner Bros. Discovery’s head of streaming, JB Perrette, announced during an earnings call that password-sharing messaging is about to get much “more aggressive.” “The message language right now has been a fairly soft, cancel-able message, but soon things will start to get more fixed and such that people have to take action as opposed to right now, sort of having to be a voluntary process.” The company’s goal is to eliminate all workarounds by the end of 2025, so subscribers should brace for the inevitable.

Of course, the crackdown’s timing is no accident. The WBD brass are planning for their fourth-quarter earnings report, which they hope will reflect the impact of their password-sharing measures. Subscriber numbers will likely spike in the coming months as users create new accounts, but growth could slow next year. Netflix saw the same thing after its own crackdown: a temporary subscriber surge, then a slowdown. For HBO Max, aggressive messaging could pay off in the short run—but will those new subscribers stick around?

The Streaming World Just Got a Major Shake-Up

As HBO Max keeps evolving (including a return to its original name), the rest of the streaming world is also shifting. This month, Disney announced plans to shut down the standalone Hulu platform and fold everything into Disney+. Some Hulu titles are already on Disney+, but soon the entire catalog will move under one roof. However, this doesn’t mean current Hulu subscriptions will vanish or be radically overhauled.

Once the merger is finished, Hulu will be available only through the Disney+ interface—but you’ll still be able to buy a standalone Hulu subscription, just through Disney+. That’ll be an option alongside the current Disney+ and Hulu bundle, which should make things easier. The shake-up is sure to drive a wave of Hulu subscribers to Disney+, boosting its numbers next year. Disney’s official statement on the Hulu-Disney+ merger:

“Today we are announcing a major step forward in strengthening our streaming offering by fully integrating Hulu into Disney+. This will create an impressive package of entertainment, pairing the highest-caliber brands and franchises, great general entertainment, family programming, news and industry-leading live sports content in a single app.”

Source: MovieWeb