Video Redefined is a study that tracks popular video formats and genres among consumers. This study has come up with some data about shared passwords. It tries to uncover the age groups that have the tendency to share passcodes. Furthermore, it also aims to identify the streaming services that are often being shared among a certain age group.
The study has looked into users from 13 to 74 years old. They asked them if they had shared their password with somebody before. Also, what streaming service have they tried to log in using the password of another user. The results showed that users between the age of 13 and 24 tend to share passcodes among one another the most.
The study showed that 64% of the users share their passcodes with other people while 78% have tried using the password of somebody else.
The Majority Are Young Users
It seems that the majority of those who are giving and receiving passcodes belong to the younger age group. 81% of them are using online service passwords. Even though it’s not common for 35 to 74-year-old people to share passwords, the study found that 29% of them are sharing passwords. 1 in every 3 people within that age group is doing it.
The study also found that Netflix accounts make up for the majority of shared passwords. In the age group of 13 to 24 years old, 59% of users share their Netflix password with each other, while 31% of them share the password of their Disney Plus account.
According to Hub principal, Peter Fondulas, online streaming services such as Netflix are happy when their content generates a massive buzz online. But if such popularity comes with non-existent rules on legitimate use, it will encourage users to share their passcode to this content with their family and friends.
Password Sharing Costs Streaming Services a Lot
There’s no problem in allowing users to share passwords for now. However, this practice is most common in the younger age groups of 13 to 24-year-old users, which is pretty alarming.
Not doing anything about it will only strengthen the belief that sharing passwords is acceptable. Even if streaming companies limit device access or browsing options, users will always find a way to share passcodes.
If this continues, there’s a good chance that the subscription fees will go up. If TV networks continue to charge a lot of money for content contracts, these streaming services will have no other option but to increase the cost of their subscription.
This is definitely bad news for cord-cutters out there. As of now, it’s the most cost-effective option for home entertainment. But given the increasing competition in the streaming market, this will only be temporary.
Piracy is Worse Than Shared Passwords
Online piracy is a much bigger issue than shared passwords. It’s not a secret that streaming content has now become more disintegrated. This has led to the increase of online pirating, both in movies and TV series. Instead of subscribing just to watch a single TV show, users prefer to stream pirated content now and not download torrents.
This will have a big impact on the entertainment industry. Even though both the TV and movie industries in the United States brought more than $230 billion in revenue in 2019 alone, online piracy has led to massive losses. These losses amount to around $30 billion every year. Some estimates have also shown a decline in the US GDP of around $47.5 to $115.3 billion in 2019.
Although piracy continues to be a serious problem in the entertainment industry, passcodes are being treated less seriously. This is because it still allows for some revenue to come in despite the fact that it doesn’t completely maximize profit.
Have you tried sharing passcodes of online streaming services with other users? What do you think of this practice? Drop us a comment below!
