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October 11, 2024
Despite crackdowns by Netflix and recently Disney+ to thwart subscribers sharing their passwords with nonpayers, new data from Deloitte finds that 25% of survey respondents borrowed paid users’ passwords to access streaming content over the past 12 months.
The consultant’s Deloitte’s Digital Media Trends found that while nearly 90% of respondent households have at least one subscription streaming VOD service, and many subscribe to more than four services, the practice of illegally using a friend’s paid subscription password still remains an issue.
About 15% of respondents used a third-party’s SVOD password, while another 7% streamed pirated TV shows or movies, and 4% did both. The freeloaders were primarily Gen Z and millennial respondents, the majority of whom are tech savvy enough to know how to skirt the rules, according to the report.
Among password borrowers, 35% said saving money was the primary reason for using a friend’s account — a notion shared by 18% of respondents accessing pirated content.
Notably, Deloitte found that among password sharers, 73% said they were irritated by ongoing service price hikes, with 53% saying they had canceled a service within the past six months. That up from 40% of respondents overall. Another 50% of password sharers said they would cancel a SVOD service if it raised its monthly fee more than $5.
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The report recommends SVOD services should partner with cybersecurity firms and cloud providers to protect their content from being pirated and shared illegally online. Streaming providers should also continue to explore lower-cost, ad-supported pricing tiers and pay-per-view models to make content accessible and to expand their user base.
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