Go ahead, ask your roommate for their sibling’s HBO Go password — as it turns out, HBO really doesn’t mind. “It presents the brand to more and more people and gives them an opportunity, hopefully, to become addicted to it,” HBO CEO Richard Plepler tells BuzzFeed. Plepler says that HBO is well aware that people share their account passwords, but he views it as a “terrific marketing vehicle” rather than an obstacle. “What we’re in the business of is building addicts, building video addicts,” he says, “and the way we do that is exposing our product and our shows and our brand to more and more people.”
Go ahead and share your HBO Go account, HBO doesn’t mind
is The Verge’s executive editor. He has covered tech, policy, and online creators for over a decade.
"I'm simply telling you, it's not a fundamental problem."
Though critics of HBO’s cable-only subscription model point toward the prevalence of password sharing and piracy as reason for HBO to offer an internet-only package as well, Plepler argues that password sharing isn’t impacting his bottom line. “It’s actually not material at all to our business growth,” Plepler tells BuzzFeed. “It’s not that we’re ignoring it ... I’m simply telling you, it’s not a fundamental problem.” That makes it sound as unlikely as ever that HBO will begin offering an internet-only package: while Plepler has been known to muse on it at times, HBO’s existing partners would be more than unhappy with such an offering, and HBO likely won’t strain those lucrative relationships if it doesn’t have to. As long as Plepler keeps his current opinion on account sharing, that isn’t quite as big of an issue — at least until your friend changes their password.
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