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Cable TV's Password-Sharing Crackdown Is Coming (bloomberg.com)
Charter Communications' CEO, Tom Rutledge, is leading an industrywide effort to crack down on password sharing. It's a growing problem that could cost pay-TV companies millions of subscribers -- and billions of dollars in revenue -- when they can least afford it. Bloomberg reports: Cable and satellite carriers in North America have lost 3 million customers this year alone. But the prevalence of password sharing suggests many of those customers, and possibly many more, are watching popular shows like "The Walking Dead" for free, robbing pay-TV providers and programmers of paying subscribers and advertising dollars. Most pay-TV companies only require users to re-enter their passwords for each device once a year. During contract negotiations this fall, Charter urged Viacom Inc., home of Comedy Central and MTV, to help limit illicit password swapping. The cable company wants programmers to restrict the number of concurrent streams on their apps and force legitimate subscribers to log in more often, according to two people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations. ESPN, meanwhile, has reduced the number of simultaneous streams that it allows on its app to five from 10 and is considering cutting that to three, Connolly said. ESPN wants to work more closely with distributors to validate subscribers when there are high volumes of streaming on its app outside the cable company's territory.
With every passing year it becomes more of a pain in the ass and more expensive to "consume content". I cut the cord almost ten years ago and now only pay for my DSL connection and Netflix. I would never in a million years pay for multiple streaming packages and/or cable tv or satellite tv.
Never...
If anything, this amalgamation of absolute fucking crap that continues to roll downhill, masquerading as the current content consumption paradigm, has me watching less "tv" and reading more.
Thanks!
We need a law to prohibit all terms in a contract not specifically related to the acquisition and distribution of said content. Problem solved. How many times a app requires someone to reauthorize really? I would assume they were talking Netflix...
Why the hell is this a problem for government to solve?
WTF do you want? The fucking logon police?
Talk about overweening statism...
If a company wants to charge for their content, let them figure out how to prevent users from sharing logins.
I'm sure all of those millennials sharing their parents' passwords will immediately sign up for cable as soon as the restrictions take effect.
$n.nn for two screens $n.nn + $5 or so for 4 screens.
Seems pretty dang simple to me.
Rather than trying to police the mess that is "is this a shared PWD or is this a mobile user or is this a legit user that moved their cable box for the night?" they just limit concurrent streams to whatever you've paid for.
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If everyone paid for their own share, those of us who are honest wouldnâ(TM)t have to pay extra to subsidize the free loaders. I canâ(TM)t wait til everything is a la carte also, so I can pay for a particular NFL game or ESPN in general without subsidizing shit like PBS or CSPAN
The way things are going at ESPN, PBS and CSPAN are going to be subsidizing ESPN.
Dunno if you caught pics of NFL stadiums lately, but lots of fans are showing up disguised as empty seats.
The networks and the NFL have an obvious vested interest in not showing that, but even in last Sundays Steelers-Patriots game (probably the two best teams in the NFL right now, that had huge playoff seeding implications), I caught one aerial view that for a few short seconds showed a shitload of empty seats. The network cut to another view pretty fast...
NFL empty seat images
Is the TFA really implying locking down concurrent streams is a problem?
The more you tighten your grip cable companies, the more customers will slip through your fingers.
Yaz
Netflix DVD catalog is VASTLY bigger than the streaming catalog. It has almost every movie ever made. In addition, you can rent a DVD, watch it, sneakernet it over to your buddy, who watches it. Then post it back to netflix. No password needed.
The only significant drawback is that you might have to wait a few months for the newest TV series to appear on DVD - unless you can pick them up on broadcast. Just think of it like if they had come out a few months later. In some ways that is nicer, because you can binge them if you want without waiting a week between eps.
I'm with you. We need a law to stop people from doing that.
>>...when they can least afford it
Go on, tell me another one!
So rise up, all ye lost ones, as one, we'll claw the clouds.
Sounds like cable is about to shoot itself in the foot.
Meanwhile, Netflix doesn't complain about shared passwords, even allows users to set up multiple profiles on each account so it's easier to share.
I hope netflix has enough bandwidth to absorb all the new customers that are about to join up.
Just limit it by MAC to a certain # of devices, and let the user delete devices from time to time. Apple does this already, so does Adobe CC, and Google Music. It's not that hard.
The whining is coming not from the content providers, but from the cable companies, because they're the obsolete ones getting screwed. Viacom doesn't care because the more streams there are (regardless of shared login) the more $ they get to charge advertisers on OTT.
It's simple math: a+b = cable companies just need to die already.
-SM
It seems like I'm being asked to log into my Roku apps on a monthly basis already, how much more do they want?
I can see perhaps for Netflix or Amazon but is anyone really sharing their cable account password?
I've been using my aunt's for years. She pays for pretty much every channel with DirecTV (except HBO for some reason!?), but because of her internet options where she lives, is unable to make use of the streaming features, so I (with her permission) do.
I use my parents' cable account password to access streaming apps on my Apple TV for the providers that require a cable password after we cut the cord. I'd gladly *pay* individual providers for streaming instead if they provided it rather this stupid cable password requirement.
Is anybody using YouTube TV? How is it for $35 a month? I only feel moderately bad about streaming shows without commercial...
Yup those R's are tight with the entertainment companies I can't wait till the D's get back in and straighten things out. I mean the way Hollywood and entertainment types just swoon over Trump and company clearly we need the impartial D's to break up that marriage.
Seriously!! What reality do you live?
with overage charges and now this. It's funny that they had 8 years to do these things and restrained themselves and for some reason in the last year or so they've gotten a lot bolder. I wonder if something happened about a year ago to change their outlook on customer service and how much they can get away with...
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"Cable TV's attempt to boost Netflix subs is coming" - corrected headline
> I can see perhaps for Netflix or Amazon but is anyone really sharing their cable account password?
Yes. ALL the cable companies track a metric called "Out of Home" -- due to licensing issues.
They know exactly when you are consuming content at your house vs outside the house.
Charging a modest fee per device (or connection) would solve the problem for everyone.
You mean people like Verizon, AT&T, Cox Cable, Time Warner, T-Mobile, Sprint corporate officers, board members and stock owners?
They're the marauding thieves in this country.
Wow I remember cable. People are still on it?
per device fees and must rent our gateway will fix it and boost profits on internet only subs.
You are taking the "content" as a given. It's not. The content doesn't materialize of its own accord from the vacuum. Someone produces it, and unless they are making art for art's sake, they have an expected return.
It is blatantly obvious to anyone paying attention that cable subscriptions are way, way down. The gig is up for these bandits. It took me a while to figure it out but I went from paying about $140 a month for 200 channels of crap to:
1) An $18 Mohu Leaf OTA antenna. One time cost and picks up about 35 channels, many of them in fantastic resolution. Monthly cost: $0
2) Plex media server. Free to install and use. Lots of channels with zero commercials. Monthly cost: $0
3) Pluto. Another free media app with lots of free content, albeit with commercials. Monthly cost: $0
4) Netflix. Comes free with my T-Mobile family plan, which I already had before the promotion was introduced. I decided to bump up to the 4K plan and extra screens. Monthly cost: $2.
5) Amazon Prime. I got Prime just for the free shipping. I consider the TV shows and movies an added bonus. If you want to include the yearly membership then Monthly cost: $8.
So I went from about $140 a month to about $10 a month. Along the way I mostly ditched all commercials and I get to watch what I want when I want.
The people that have yet to figure this out (this means you, cable subscribers) are left to pick up the pieces as the cable companies try to figure out how to stem the bleeding. ESPN is laying people off left right and center. Viewership is down across the board. Once the advertisers figure this out they will demand lower rates, thus the profits plunge even further. Meanwhile, the cable companies predictably are in scramble mode. This password cracking down is just another pointless maneuver. It's not going to work and I think deep down they know it.
The device MAC address gets registered with the ISP/TV provider as "allowed"
The device's MAC address is invisible after the first hop. Unless you are saying that the device reports it over its own private channel. But then you would just use a device where you can easily spoof a MAC address.
Now if the device had to check in from the home Internet connection every 30 days to get an authorization token, that would be almost reasonable.
Hmmm... I guess à la carte means different things to different people. I'd be willing to go either way, although I prefer specific content over specific channels, like you suggest.
Here's the problem. I cut the cord, but I can already get specific content. Take the Walking Dead, for instance. I can pay Amazon $3 an episode, or $25 for the season. The problem I have with that is, if I were subscribing to cable, AMC would make HALF of what ONE episode costs and I'd be able to watch ALL their shows; even just as conveniently (perhaps more-so) if I have a DVR.
In other words, the à la carte pricing is not commensurate with TV pricing... not even close. AMC is one of those channels I'd directly pay DOUBLE what they make from the cable companies to stream their shows commercial free.... it'd still cost less than $3.00. Even the $5.00 commercial free service AMC is offering right now requires the cable login... the only benefit is you get streaming and commercial free.
So I would expect à la carte pricing for content to be more expensive than the amount you'd come up with by looking at the cost per channel and breaking it down somehow to a cost per show, but even if you take that approach and multiply it by a factor of $10, it's still a tiny fraction of what these stations want to charge, despite the fact that if they had faith in their programming they'd stand to make a lot more, and they'd be happy, and the people would be happy, and the only one's crying would be the cable companies.
IOW, I should be able to pay roughly what a basic cable subscription costs to get just the 10-15 shows I might want to watch streamed commercial free, and the stations would make more money from me than they would from the cable company.... but apparently that's not good enough for them.
Stupid sexy Flanders.
I won't buy the disc. I won't pirate it, either, but when AMC makes $1.40 per subscriber that can DVR every show on AMC, paying $25.00 for a season of The Walking Dead is absurd. Instead, they get nothing from me except what Netflix pays them, and I watch the full season when it becomes available there. I'm a patient person, and don't give a crap about spoilers, and I have plenty of other shows to watch in the meantime.
Stupid sexy Flanders.
You can get PBS ala-antenna
Millions of customers lost to password sharing? Pure bullshit.
Maybe those customers are tired of getting fucked over by the cable companies and the past few weeks have been the last straw.
Cable companies are losing money and are desperate to make it up. Bullshit and fuck you, that is insulting to our intelligence.
I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
Cable companies: "We need to government to protect us from our theiving customers." Also cable companies: "But government regulation is bad! We must end net neutrality!"
I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
That is what I said when I robbed a bank.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
Upgrade your damn iOS device.
Back to Bittorrent it is. *shrug*
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
It will actually stop the bleeding.
An empty carcass does not bleed anymore.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
... It's a growing problem that could cost pay-TV companies millions of subscribers -- and billions of dollars in revenue -- when they can least afford it. ...
My office mates are looking at me funny, because I quite literally laughed out loud when I read that.
tl;dr Offer episodes for rental and not just purchase.
Cable companies: "We need to government to protect us from our theiving customers." Also cable companies: "But government regulation is bad! We must end net neutrality!"
Voila! No net neutrality. The easiest way to cancel a cable service is to stop paying them, now go outside and play.
The mind conceives, the body achieves, the spirit manifests.
Do you? If they control the login client (an app) and not just some public website login, that is the way to lock down to specific devices. That's how my VPN service works to 5 devices limit.
What? No, calling them and cancelling is the easiest. Stop paying them takes some 2-3 months to "cancel" and increases your debt for something you didn't use. That's dumb advice.