- HBO Max plans to roll out its password crackdown globally…
- …but HBO Max may be folded into Paramount+ after the planned merger
- HBO's extra member fee is currently US only
HBO Max's crackdown on account/password sharing is rolling out worldwide, unless the streaming service gets shut down first. That's according to HBO Max's CEO and president of global streaming, JB Perrette. Although he didn't say that second bit.Perrette was speaking to investors on the streamer's latest earnings call, and as FlatpanelsHD reports, he said: "We are in the second inning of our password sharing enforcement. It is just beginning to get scale. It has not expanded globally at all. That will start in 2026."Or will it? Because you can't introduce a password crackdown on a streaming service if you no longer have a streaming service. And right now HBO Max's future as a standalone streamer is far from certain.
What's going on at HBO Max?
HBO Max's future currently depends on whether regulators approve the acquisition of HBO Max's parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, by Paramount Skydance. According to at least one prominent media analyst, if that goes ahead then HBO Max could be shut down by the end of 2027.Paramount CEO David Ellison has said that once the sale goes through — which isn't yet definite, but appears highly likely — then Paramount+ and HBO Max will be combined into a single streaming service with a new name, pricing structure and organization.According to Variety's Brian Steinberg, posting on X, a research note by MoffettNathanson analyst Robert Fishman to investors says that "We expect HBO Max to essentially be shut down at the end of 2027".That would be a strange move, given the brand cachet of HBO: Warner CEO David Zaslav said last year that the HBO brand was "the highest quality in media", and if you're outside the US, where Paramount has its biggest catalog, then Paramount+ comes pretty far down the list of the best streaming services. But the naming shenanigans at HBO in recent years don't make me confident that the final decision will be the smartest one.Paramount+ doesn't currently crack down on password sharing, but if you're thinking the future Paramount+/HBO Max service will also be laissez faire, you're probably going to be disappointed: the combined company will be carrying a reported $79 billion in debt and is expected to embark on a round of cost-cutting including layoffs. That means it's much more likely to keep the $7.99/month extra member fee and charge a similar one worldwide than scrap it.
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