Millennials Call It Sharing. Wall Street Calls It Stealing.

[GennGreymane]

http://time.com/money/4066429/passwo...facebook_money

Whatever you call it, it's killing the cable tv business.

It’s no secret that young people like to consume entertainment they don’t necessarily pay for.

But when business and tech types talk about this reality, they tend to use neutral or even flattering language: Millennials, they say, like to “swap” files and “share” subscription passwords. After all, super-earnest, bike-commuting, coffee-sipping twenty-somethings don’t look like dangerous criminals. And let’s face it, no business wants to alienate the work-force’s largest generational cohort, with billions, if not trillions, worth of spending ahead of it.

But now some Wall Street analysts have decided to come right out and use another S word—steal—in discussing the problems facing some traditional media enterprises.

“The millennials are a generation that grew up (and will likely grow old) ‘sharing’ (read stealing) passwords for access to content if it continues to be ignored,” wrote analysts Mike McCormack, Scott Goldman, and Tudor Mustata in a note to clients Tuesday. “We believe it is the most significant cause of the declining pay TV subscriber base.”

The problem, the analysts suggest, is that all this sharing/stealing could quickly destroy the cable TV business. That’s hardly a far-fetched argument. Similar trends have already gutted the music and news industries.

The Jefferies analysts argue password sharing is already “the most significant cause of the declining pay TV subscriber base.” They compare the current situation to a time when people jury-rigged access to cable with “illegal cable drops, third-party set tops and reprogrammed satellite cards.” Revenues returned only when the industry cracked down.

Of course, no one likes to be called a crook. Millennials might counter that the situation isn’t totally black and white. The music industry has evolved. And sharing streaming TV passwords isn’t clearly against the rules. Passwords for the streaming service HBO Now, for instance, are limited to a household, but the company has been vague (presumably on purpose) about what that means. Netflix, Amazon, and others all have policies that similarly attempt to both acknowledge and limit sharing.

The solution? The analysts call for companies to adopt tougher rules with emphasis on “authentication limits”—essentially limits on how many people can use a log in at the same time, which some sites like Netflix and Hulu already employ. But they also acknowledge the scope of the problem—and the fact that, let’s face it, it’s not just millennials. “It is difficult to meet someone (of any age demo) that hasn’t used or allowed another to use content passwords,” they lament.

[Nachturnal]

Ha! Yeah, okay.

[Kujako]

It has nothing to do with cable being over 100$ a month and Hulu costing 7$.

[Jester Joe]

Really? They think password sharing is is the most significant cause of the declining TV subscription base? Really? How out of touch can you be? Is the concept of paying less for more lost on these people?

Netflix and Hulu give me all I can want at a ridiculous fraction of cable subscription.

I mean, why pay god knows how much each month for hundreds of channels that you have to sit down at a certain time to make sure you catch the show, and THEN you have to deal with commercials on top of that? Never mind the fact that you're probably only realistically going to use 10-20 channels tops out of those hundreds (Not including music channels).

Oh, and then the funnier part, you wanna catch that show whenever you want? Pay extra so you can record it.

[zenkai]

I would love to see the entertainment industry burn in flames

[Vapo]

i havent had TV for last 9 years cuz there was nothing worth watching on it...

[Very Tired]

It's just one of the reasons why T.V. is going the way of the newsapaper. The interest in T.V. is starting to decline over the years, what with everything being online now. Instead of complaining about it and throwing a hissy fit, the industry should evolve along with it.

[vindicatorx]

It has nothing to do with cable being over 100$ a month and Hulu costing 7$.

pretty much this my ISP charges $35 a month for my internet and I have a sub for HULU commercial free and it's $12 a month and am thinking about getting either Crunchyroll or Funimation as well, while I can get both and still pay less than I would for internet and base cable. Cable is a ripoff you get 200 channels with nothing on HULU I can watch all the new stuff when I want and that is it.

[Devilpriest]

I feel like "try not to laugh" compilations are better than 90% of the crap they have on cable TV. Ever flip through 100 channels and conclude there's nothing to watch? yeah....

[Deleted]

Wallstreet wants to talk about Stealing?

The guy's who made the World Economy crash, wants to talk about Stealing?

That's the atypical behaviour of the worst scum. Do something super scum, call others Scum.

[Alefnir]

Well, they need to adapt or die. That's capitalism.

What Steam has taught us is that it's not about money, it's about convenience.

[Jotaux]

If you want me to pay to watch something make it easy for me to do so. Netflix is easy so I pay for it. Some networks put full episodes on their website so I watch them with the site in my adblock whitelist. I find a way for anything else.

[Ragnarocket]

It has nothing to do with cable being over 100$ a month and Hulu costing 7$.

Pretty much this, heck I even took the $4 increase for Hulu so I don't have any more commercials.

And yeah I let my friends use my Hulu account sometimes because I use their Netflix account. I guess I contribute to the problem huh? :P

[klogaroth]

You know what's killing the TV industry?

When only a handful of people pay for TV, but the whole street watches the show.

That why the UK no longer has TV. When people went round to their neighbour's house to watch the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, despite not even owning a TV, it completely destroyed TV.

[Smauldy]

The staggering irony of Wall Street accusing others of "stealing" is absolutely hilarious.

[Kujako]

Pretty much this, heck I even took the $4 increase for Hulu so I don't have any more commercials.

And yeah I let my friends use my Hulu account sometimes because I use their Netflix account. I guess I contribute to the problem huh? :P

Netflix allows sharing with up to five friends, Hulu throws a fit if you use two devices at the same time. I also use SLING which has the same one device limitation. But still better then Comcast cable.

[Very Tired]

It has nothing to do with cable being over 100$ a month and Hulu costing 7$.

Why even pay for Hulu at all? Most of the shows I watch at streamed directly from the network's website. If not, you can usually find it streamed somewhere else for free the day it comes out.

[Yamuri]

Cable is outdated entertainment. Everything is online now. We may have ads, but we can scroll past them, can't do crap about commercials. If I pay for cable, maybe they shouldn't shove crap like that in my face. Netflix doesn't advertise that way, it's dumb in this age.

[klogaroth]

You aren't eligible for bozzelprogress TV series completion rankings if you account share though, so who're the real losers?

[zenkai]

You know what's killing the TV industry?

When only a handful of people pay for TV, but the whole street watches the show.

That why the UK no longer has TV. When people went round to their neighbour's house to watch the coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1953, despite not even owning a TV, it completely destroyed TV.

lol good point... They also thought the VCR would destroy TV