Am I a sucker for paying for subscriptions to video streaming services? After reviewing a recently released poll of 1,000 streamers from U.K.-based consumer comparison site Comparitech I sure feel like one because it shows that many consumers don't think it's wrong to access sites like Netflix without paying.
In fact, the survey found less than 1 in 5 respondents felt bad about providing their passwords to people outside their households. It’s a generational thing. More than 3 in 4 (75.6 percent) Generation Zers born in the 1990s and early 2000s and 3 in 5 (63.4 percent) of Millennials born, between 1981 and 1996 think it's ethical to share streaming accounts. Only 34 percent of Generation Xers born between 1961 and 1981 and 34 percent of Baby Boomers born between 1946 and 1960 shared that view.
If the Comparitech survey is to be believed, some consumers worry about the ramifications of their actions. More than 50 percent of Generation Z consumers and more than 40 percent of all Millennial consumers told Comparitech that they believed that sharing passwords hurts both streaming services and the content creators whose work they are enjoying for free. Roughly 30 percent of Generation Xers and Baby Boomers agreed with that sentiment.
One reason for the Laissez-faire attitude that consumers have about sharing passwords is that they have been encouraged to do it by Netflix CEO Reid Hastings among others for years. Hastings bluntly told CNBC in 2017: “Password sharing is something you have to learn to live with. ..."
Technically, though, Netflix's doesn't allow users to lend their accounts to their friends and relative. According to the company's terms of use, Netflix login information is intended for members of the same household. Netflix allows members to set up as many as 5 profiles on each account. The company also limits the use of devices that can access Netflix at the same time.
A study released earlier this year from Cordcutting.com estimated that sharing passwords cost the Netflix $2.3 billion annually, which for a company with a market capitalization topping $150 billion is manageable. Going forward, however, Hastings may not be able to be so magnanimous. Rival Walt Disney is planning to launch a rival streaming service to Netflix later this year as is AT&T's WarnerMedia.
According to Comparitech, nearly half (45 percent) of all Netflix users “share” their accounts with their friends and family. As of the end of last year, the Los Gatos, Calif-based company had about 140 million subscribers, so that’s a lot of freeloaders. Rival services are in the same situation.
The Compartiech survey found that 64 percent of HBO Now subscribers let other people access their accounts as did 55 percent of CBS All Access users. Roughly 43 percent of Hulu clients shared their account information. MLB.TV, which streams out-of-market baseball games, had the most moochers of any streaming service with a whopping 77 percent of users sharing their account information. With an annual cost of $118.99, it’s not a shock that baseball fans are looking to save a few bucks.
Lost in the discussion is any consideration for the paying customers like myself who are subsidizing the streaming freeloaders. Why should we be penalized for being paying customers?
A technical solution, however, may be in the works. A U.K.-based tech start-up called Synamedia announced last year that it had developed an Artificial Intelligence-powered service called Synamedia Credentials Sharing Insight that roots out “unusual” sharing activity. The offering is in trials with several Pay-TV operators.
