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Time Warner Cable CEO Not Worried About Password Sharing

Charter CEO Tom Rutledge recently complained that the company views HBO password sharing as "stealing," and that the industry needs to seriously crack down on the practice. Outgoing Time Warner Cable Chairman and CEO Rob Marcus this week however stated that he's "not losing any sleep" over the issue, and doesn't yet see the need for heavy-handed reactions to the password sharing phenomenon just yet.

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Granted Marcus isn't "losing sleep" about much of anything right now, since he's about to net a $97 million plus windfall as a departing gift after Charter's acquisition of Time Warner Cable. But Marcus also added that "by definition, no one knows how bad it is" and, if necessary, there's steps companies could take to thwart user password sharing:
quote:
For his part, Marcus said "there are ways to manage" the password issue, noting that TWC limited its users to five concurrent streams based on one username and password.

"We can also insist that devices 'come home' every once in a while," he added. This means that devices that use a specific password must, on a pre-determined timeline, occasionally use the subscriber's modem.
Given that Charter will soon own Time Warner Cable, it's pretty clear which direction the new, larger company will be headed. For its part HBO, the company whose passwords are probably the most shared right now, has consistently gone on the record saying they don't much care about the practice, and see it as a form of advertising for the brand and product.

Most recommended from 14 comments



Packeteers
Premium Member
join:2005-06-18
Forest Hills, NY
Asus RT-AC3100
(Software) Asuswrt-Merlin

4 edits

10 recommendations

Packeteers

Premium Member

ace up his sleeve

marcus knows he can easily root any streaming account to a customer's home modem mac/ip.
they are currently doing exactly that with twc-tv for roku3-only based subscribers.
other cabletv-like steams such as USTVnow will also tie your sub to a specific device.

this is why you should never buy any streaming service resold by your isp.
always buy direct from the content or streaming box provider,
as it will help ensure it can be used while roaming pretty much anywhere in country.

obviously the streaming source itself can restrict simultaneous use should it ever choose to.
as sub counts keep growing, they seem content to allow sharing as a form of buzz marketing.
but once sub growth slows and peeks, you can expect sharing to become severely restricted.

cork1958
Cork
Premium Member
join:2000-02-26

8 recommendations

cork1958

Premium Member

The only thing

The only thing I have to say about this is I find it absolutely ridiculous that some one gets $97 million for ANYTHING, and especially, for leaving a company!!

As for Rutledge, we already know he's a numb nut!!
quisp65
join:2003-05-03
San Diego, CA

2 recommendations

quisp65

Member

Eventually...

I think eventually they will all just put a restriction of 1 stream per account and another stream will cost a bit extra.

Anyone think they will do it different?

Personally... I'm sharing my friend's Directv streaming and my Parents are sharing my Netflix.