WBD Expanding HBO Max Password-Sharing Crackdown Across Foreign Markets
February 26, 2026
Ahead of the launch of HBO Max in the United Kingdom and Ireland next month, Warner Bros. Discovery is expanding a foreign crackdown on password sharing among non-subscribers.
WBD, which announced the move Feb. 26 on the fiscal call, rolled out HBO Max service in eight countries in January, primarily focusing on major economies in Central and Southern Europe.
The crackdown notifies subscribers found to be sharing their HBO Max or Discovery+ passwords the option to add out-of-household users for an additional $7.99 per month for the less-expensive ad-supported tier.
Users identified as sharing passwords will see increasingly “fixed” or “assertive” messages requiring action, replacing the previous “soft” notifications that could be easily dismissed, according to JB Perrette, CEO and president of global streaming.
WBD added more than 12 million foreign paid streaming subscribers in the fourth quarter (ended Dec. 31, 2025), to end the year with 72.4 million.
“We are in the second inning of our password sharing enforcement. It is just beginning to get scale,” Perrette said on the company’s fiscal call. “It has not expanded globally at all. That will start in 2026.”
“We are still launching in new markets with our ad tiers, and we think there is further upside,” Perrette added. “Based on the fact that our fill rates are still relatively low internationally, we feel great about the next couple years and the years to come. We have great visibility to a strengthening content slate, which is at the core of everything we do, and the launches in big markets. It all flows together to drive that growth.”
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