http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Time-Warner-Cable-CEO-Not-Worried-About-Password-Sharing-135862
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.
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.
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.
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.
