Charter Communications Chair & CEO Tom Rutledge has is "leading an industrywide effort to crack down on password sharing," which is a "growing problem that could cost pay-TV companies millions of subscribers -- and billions of dollars in revenue -- when they can least afford it," according to Gerry Smith of BLOOMBERG NEWS. Researchers at ESPN "recently asked a group of about 50 millennial sports fans how many of them shared passwords." ESPN Exec VP/Affiliate Sales & Marketing Justin Connolly said that "everyone raised their hand." Connolly: "It’s piracy. It’s people consuming something they haven’t paid for. The more the practice is viewed with a shrug, the more it creates a dynamic where people believe it’s acceptable. And it’s not." Connolly said that ESPN has "reduced the number of simultaneous streams that it allows on its app to five from 10 and is considering cutting that to three." Smith noted ESPN wants to "work more closely with distributors to validate subscribers when there are high volumes of streaming on its app outside the cable company’s territory." The problem "stems from an industry concept called TV Everywhere" that started in '09. But cracking down on password sharing "can be risky." If logging in gets "too cumbersome, cable subscribers could get frustrated and cancel." ESPN wants to "make it easier by automatically recognizing subscribers who are on their home Wi-Fi or using their own device" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 12/20).
