HBO doesn’t see password sharing for HBO GO as a threat

We know you share streaming accounts with friends, family and other miscellaneous acquaintances on Netflix, HBO Go, Hulu and so on. Who doesn’t? We also know that every time you login, especially to services that don’t allow multiple accounts as Netflix now does, that you experience a slight, trembling fear that one day sharing will be banned. But worry no more, HBO Go isn’t mad, and frankly, they kind of see it as a good thing.

HBO CEO Richard Plepler knows that tons of people share accounts for the network’s HBO GO service — but he doesn’t think it’s a big threat. “It’s not that we are unmindful of it, but it has no real effect on the business,” Plepler said during a recent BuzzFeed event in New York. He went even further, claiming that password sharing could have a positive effect on HBO’s bottom line down the road. Students who share their parents’ accounts are more likely to one day subscribe to HBO themselves, Plepler argued: “To us, it’s in many ways a terrific marketing vehicle for the next generation of viewers.”