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State of the Screens

Cable TV’s Password-Sharing Crackdown Is Coming

By January 23, 2018No Comments

Password sharing is becoming a big problem for pay-TV providers.

1 Spectrum username had 30K simultaneous streams!

ESPN asked a group of 50 millennial sports fans if they shared passwords. All 50 raised their hands!

The big question. How many of the 3m consumers who have canceled pay-TV service this year are getting access through someone else’s account?

16% of pay-TV subscribers admit to sharing passwords.

# of simultaneous users that each service allows:
1) Netflix: 4
2) HBO: 3
3) DirecTV (Satelite): 5
4) DirectTV Now: 2

Ideas for reducing password sharing:
1) Limit concurrent streams
2) Force more frequent logins

Projected revenue loss due to password sharing:
1) 2017: $3.5B
2) 2021: $9.9B (↑ 183%)

Michael Beach

Michael Beach is the Chief Executive Officer of Cross Screen Media, a media analytics and software company that enables marketers to plan, activate, and measure CTV and linear TV at the local level. Michael is also the founder and editor of State of the Screens, a weekly newsletter focused on video advertising that is a must-read for thought leaders in the advertising industry. He has appeared in such publications as PBS Frontline, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Axios, CNBC and Bloomberg, and on NPR’s Planet Money podcast.