Max to Get ‘More Assertive’ in Blocking Password-Sharing Users Later This Year, WBD Exec Says

Warner Bros. Discovery wants people who are piggybacking on someone else’s Max account to pay up — starting in the U.S. with a gentle nudge before getting “more assertive” starting later in 2025, according to JB Perrette, CEO and president of global streaming and games.

Last month, the company introduced Max’s Extra Member Add-On feature in the U.S., priced at $7.99/month. That lets a primary account owner 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.

On WBD’s Q1 earnings call, Perrette declined to quantify the “size of the opportunity” for Max’s password crackdown — which follows Netflix’s similar move that provided a lift to revenue. But he said the company is starting with a more gentle approach before getting more aggressive.

Perrette told analysts it will take 12-18 months to fully roll out the Max password-sharing initiative, which he expects to deliver a “boost of both subscriber and ARPU growth,” referring to average revenue per unit.

“Remember, right now we’ve launched [Extra Member Add-On] only in the U.S.,” Perrette said. “It’s only available on our retail subscriber base, which obviously is a subset of our total sub base.” Warner Bros. Discovery added 5.3 million streaming subs worldwide in the first quarter, to reach 122.3 million total, and clearly the company expects to see an increasing revenue from Max as it expands its password-sharing crackdown.

Perrette said “the messaging [to users] is part of the parallel path of the password-sharing initiatives that we have.” Initially it’s “very soft messaging,” which “will start getting firmer and more visible to subscribers over the months to come.” The messaging on password sharing will get “more assertive over the course of the or the back half the year and really into ’26,” he said.

Max’s terms of service for North America indicate that the company reserves the right to limit accounts that violate password-sharing rules. “[W]e can modify access or disable features, including for security reasons, to limit the impact of account sharing outside of your household or where we have concluded in our discretion that there has been misuse of your Max Account,” the document says.

On its customer-help website, the streamer says, “Max accounts are intended for the account owner (the person who created the account) and the people they live with. If you don’t live with the account owner, you need to sign up for your own Max account.” For U.S. members, it also provides a reference to the new “Extra Member Add-On” option, noting, “WarnerMedia-billed subscribers can share their Max plan with someone who doesn’t live with them.”

Warner Bros. Discovery says that to determine which devices are considered part of a Max account holder’s household, “we use account and profile information along with a combination of network and device information (including IP addresses, device IDs, and user activity) chosen at our discretion.”