Are you piggybacking on the Netflix, HBO Go, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc, account of a friend or family member? A new report claims that you’re part of the 6% of U.S. households that are costing these companies $500 million in revenue this year. 
 
 This is according to a new report from Parks Associates, which found that 1-in-5 young adults in the U.S. are using someone else’s account to watch a streaming (or over-the-top [OTT]) video service. 
 
 That number drops significantly to 10% for the next age group (25-34), and declines even further after that, though there is a slight bump in the 55-64 age group, implying that some older parents are using their young adult offsprings’ accounts to watch Orange Is the New Black and Transparent. 
 
 Parks claims that this credential sharing leads to a $500 million loss of direct revenue to the industry. 
 
 “Credential sharing has a measurable impact on video services, particularly in the OTT video service area, where young subscribers are active,” explains Glenn Hower of Parks Associates. “The impact on OTT video revenues is especially troublesome as OTT providers are investing large sums of money to boost their original content offerings.” 
 
 Certain OTT services, like Hulu and Sling, make it more difficult to share passwords by limiting streaming access to a single device at any given time. The typical Netflix account allows for simultaneous streaming on two screens; customers can upgrade their account to increase that to four screens. Netflix also lets users create different profiles so that multiple users can have their own queues and recommendations. 
 
 “While credential sharing predominantly impacts OTT service revenues, the process will affect pay-TV operators in a similar fashion as they develop and deploy their own OTT and TV Everywhere offerings,” Hower says. “The motivation for credential sharing is primarily economic, and a move to consolidate video service subscriptions among family and friends stands to impact digital video services of all types in the near future.” 
 
 [via FierceCable.com] 

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 OTT video service credential sharing will cost the industry $500 million in 2015 
 
 New report examines video piracy, credential sharing, and its impact on OTT revenue 
 
 Parks Associates announced new digital media research today that finds OTT video service credential sharing will cost the industry $500 million in direct revenues worldwide in 2015. The report The Cost of Piracy shows 6% of U.S. broadband households use an OTT video service that is paid by a person living outside of the household. It also analyzes usage and impact of live-streaming applications like Meerkat and Periscope, which are used to “share” broadcast events such as Game of Thrones episodes and the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. 
 
 “Live-streaming usage has garnered media attention recently, but credential sharing is also a popular form of piracy in the connected world, one that has received varying responses from service providers and content owners,” said Glenn Hower, Research Analyst, Parks Associates. “Credential sharing has a measurable impact on video services, particularly in the OTT video service area, where young subscribers are active. The impact on OTT video revenues is especially troublesome as OTT providers are investing large sums of money to boost their original content offerings.” 
 
 The Cost of Piracy finds 20% of OTT users aged 18-24 use an OTT video service paid by someone outside the home, the highest of any age group. Only 10% of OTT subscribers 25-34 admit to this behavior. Previous research, reported in the whitepaper “Uprising: College Students & Changing Video Preferences,” found that few respondents expressed guilt or embarrassment over using someone else’s video service credentials. 
 
 “While credential sharing predominantly impacts OTT service revenues, the process will affect pay-TV operators in a similar fashion as they develop and deploy their own OTT and TV Everywhere offerings,” Hower said. “The motivation for credential sharing is primarily economic, and a move to consolidate video service subscriptions among family and friends stands to impact digital video services of all types in the near future.” 
 
 The report examines previous piracy incidents and the lessons learned, current piracy and content security concerns, and future piracy threats to the content industry. It includes a five-year forecast of direct revenues lost due to pirated content through credential sharing. It is available for purchase at www.parksassociates.com. 
 
 To schedule an interview with Glenn Hower or to request specific research data, please contact Holly Sprague at hsprague@gmail.com. 
 
 About Parks Associates: Parks Associates is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates creates research capital for companies ranging from Fortune 500 to small start-ups through market reports, primary studies, consumer research, custom research, workshops, executive conferences, and annual service subscriptions. The company's expertise includes the Internet of Things (IoT), digital media and platforms, entertainment and gaming, home networks, Internet and television services, digital health, mobile applications and services, support services, consumer apps, advanced advertising, consumer electronics, energy management, and home control systems and security. Each year, Parks Associates hosts industry webcasts, the CONNECTIONS™ Conference Series, Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer, Connected Health Summit: Engaging Consumers, and Future of Video: OTT, Pay TV, and Digital Media. http://www.parksassociates.com 
 
 Next: OTT Subscriber Annual Churn Rates for Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Prime Users show consumers are testing new video services 
 
 Previous: Multichannel networks (MCNs) are key to reaching younger online video viewers 
 

– HBO chief Richard Plepler said earlier this year that people swiping HBO Go passwords from family or friends to watch their favorite shows and movies was not a big deal, but he may want to rethink that business concession. A new report by Parks Associates and cited by Consumerist shows that 6% of US households are using someone else's account to watch a streaming-video service (think HBO Go, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime)—and that programming pilfering will cost the industry $500 million this year. Young adults ages 18-24 use OTT (over-the-top) video services paid for by someone else the most, with 20% copping to it, per The Cost of Piracy report. Those numbers keep dropping (e.g., only 10% of the 25-34 set admit to this activity), until they rise slightly in the 55-64 demographic, which Consumerist notes could be from older parents using their adult children's accounts. "Credential sharing has a measurable impact on video services," a Parks Associates analyst says in the release. "The impact on OTT video revenues is especially troublesome as OTT providers are investing large sums of money to boost their original content offerings." The company notes that a previous study of college students found little guilt or embarrassment present when using a "borrowed" password. Consumerist notes that while Netflix makes it relatively easy for different people to use the same password (its highest-level service plan allows for content to be streamed on four screens at once), other services like Hulu limit streaming to one device at a time, which limits the hit the service takes. (If you are using someone else's HBO Go password, don't whine about it when things go wrong.)