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Joel Katz

Effects of Streaming Service Password Crackdown in New Jersey

Author Joel Katz
Streaming Harry Potter on the Max streaming platform

Thousands of us in New Jersey are feeling the effects of a streaming service password crackdown.

The password crackdown involves the streaming service eliminating the possibility, for example, of sharing my account with a friend or relative at another address or location.

Streaming Service Password Crackdown

I didn’t have an issue with it until recently when two of my kids moved away for college. They had issues logging in because of the frequency and duration of use. It was very difficult to remedy the situation as we tried to contact Netflix multiple times. Finally, for some unknown reason, it started working properly again. I learned that password sharing isn’t actually considered sharing if the person’s primary residence is where the account is billed.

Forbes.com reported that 33% of people have had to create their streaming service account since password-sharing crackdowns have been enforced.

This includes streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, and soon Max. Max (formerly HBO Max) recently announced that they will start cracking down on password sharing this year, according to Variety.

The study surveyed 2,000 Americans to see how much they’re spending on streaming services, how password crackdowns have affected them, and which streaming services they’re willing to cancel if prices increased or password-sharing crackdowns were enforced.

Streaming Eats Up Our Time

The study compares streaming content to a part-time job. Americans spend an average of 20 hours streaming content every week.

44% report having their streaming subscription costs increase over the last year. Americans’ average cost of streaming services is $552 a year.

Disney+ May Lose Subscribers

Disney+ might not survive the streaming service password crackdown. 44% say they would cancel their Disney+ subscription if prices increased or password-sharing crackdowns were enforced. 33% of Netflix subscribers and 40% of Hulu said the same. However, more than 90% of subscribers of multiple streaming services say they’ll keep streaming if a crackdown occurs.

The number of people paying for streaming services has increased over the last year. 96% paid for at least one streaming subscription in 2024 while only 86% paid for streaming services in 2023.

The report also found that 56% still access streaming services through friends and family accounts. 90% claim they will discontinue streaming services if higher prices or stricter password sharing are enforced in 2024.

Streaming Numbers Are Growing

The number of people paying for streaming services has increased over the last year. 96% paid for at least one streaming subscription in 2024 while only 86% paid for streaming services in 2023.

People are spending an average of $552 on streaming services a year. This totals about $46 a month.

Here Are The Notable Titles Coming To Streaming In March

Spring is (thankfully) soon approaching, and so are the streamers with new content to add to their platforms. From star-studded films to exciting new television series, the month of March offers a lot of promising entertainment for fans of all genres. As we saw in February, new television series like Griselda and True Detective were highly anticipated, though both shows were met with mixed reviews. The latest and final season of Curb Your Enthusiasm is ongoing on Max (formerly HBO) after debuting its first episode on February 4. Another successful comedy show that re-emerged for a new season and is still releasing new episodes in March is Abbott Elementary.

Marching Onto Your TVs

Also notable: movies that were in theaters recently are trickling their way onto streaming platforms. 2023’s Wonka, starring Timothee Chalamet, is making its way into your living rooms. Chalamet has had a knockout year, starring in back-to-back films that are mighty successful. He will next be seen in the second installment of the Dune film franchise, which is set to release in theaters on March 1st. Besides the film’s cursed popcorn buckets, there has been nothing but high ratings and rave reviews for the sci-fi flick, also starring Zendaya, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken, Anya Taylor-Joy, Dave Bautista, Josh Brolin, and Javier Bardem.

New series and films that fans are looking forward to include the newest and first series by the Game of Thrones creators called 3 Body Problem. Another highly-anticipated film is one that takes in space (yes, that is a very overly done theme), but it’s got an eerie twist. Spaceman, starring Adam Sandler starts off pretty generic in the beginning of the trailer but quickly gets dark and very Black Mirror-esque as you watch more of it.

Keep scrolling to see the hottest films and shows coming to Netflix, Hulu, Max, Prime Video, Peacock, Paramount+, and other streaming services in March.

  • 'Spaceman'

    The Sandman becomes the Spaceman on Netflix on March 1. Adam Sandler’s latest dramatic film role follows an astronaut named Jakub Procházka who was raised by his grandparents in the Czech countryside after being abandoned as a young boy. Six months into a lone mission in space to become the Czech Republic’s first astronaut and on the brink of insanity, he gets the psychological and emotional support he needs from a giant talking space spider (voiced by Paul Dano). Spaceman is based on the 2017 novel Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfař.

  • 'The Regime'

    The Regime, created by Succession writer Will Tracy, is a political satire set in the palace of a modern European regime as it begins to crumble over the course of a year. Kate Winslet stars as Chancellor Elena Vernham, who becomes increasingly paranoid and unstable and turns into a volatile soldier. The limited series comes to Max on March 3rd. The darkly comedic six-episode series cast also includes Matthias Schoenaerts, Guillaume Gallienne, Andrea Riseborough, Martha Plimpton, and Hugh Grant. Herbert Zubak (Schoenaerts) becomes the chancellor’s unlikely confidant. As Zubak’s influence over the chancellor grows, Elena’s attempts to expand her power eventually result in the palace and the country fracturing around her.

  • 'The Gentlemen'

    Guy Ritchie debuts a spin-off of his 2019 crime film, The Gentlemen, with an all-new series debuting on Netflix on March 7th. Theo James leads The Gentlemen as the Duke of Halstead, Eddie Horniman, the estranged son of an English aristocrat who finds himself embroiled in a world of criminality — specifically career criminal Bobby Glass’ (Ray Winstone) industrial cannabis empire on the East End of London. Kaya Scodelario stars as Susie Glass, Bobby’s effortlessly fashionable and ruthless daughter who handles the day-to-day business of the drug operation.

  • 'Ricky Stanicky'

    When three childhood best friends constantly use an imaginary friend named Ricky Stanicky to get them out of trouble, they find that their excuses have caught up to them! Twenty years after creating this “friend,” Dean, JT, and Wes (Zac Efron, Andrew Santino, and Jermaine Fowler, respectively) still use the nonexistent Ricky as a handy alibi for their immature behavior. When their spouses and partners get suspicious and demand to finally meet the fabled Mr. Stanicky, the guilty trio decide to hire washed-up actor and X-rated celebrity impersonator “Rock Hard” Rod (John Cena) to bring him to life. But when Rod takes his role of a lifetime too far, they begin to wish they’d never invented Ricky in the first place. Coming to Prime Video on March 7th.

  • 'Damsel'

    Stranger Things‘ Millie Bobby Brown is entering a different kind of Upside Down in this fantasy film about a young and courageous woman named Elodie, whose dream wedding into a royal family becomes a nightmare when it turns out she’s actually a sacrifice for a dragon to repay an ancient debt. She’s then thrown into a cave with a fire-breathing dragon, where she has to rely solely on her wits and will to survive. Debuts March 8th.

  • 'Wonka'

    Watch the highly-rated Willy Wonka origin story starring Timothee Chalamet on Max March 8th. The movie follows Wonka as a young man as he becomes “the world’s greatest inventor, magician and chocolate-maker.” The family film co-stars Olivia Colman, Keegan-Michael Key and Hugh Grant as an Oompa-Loompa. Wonka surpassed $600 million at the global box office, on an estimated $125 million budget. The film is director Paul King’s highest-grossing film, surpassing his previous Paddington films. It is Chalamet’s biggest movie at the international box office, that is, until Dune: Part Two releases in theaters, and that is expected to make a killing.

  • 'Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor's Version)'

    Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour concert will make its streaming debut on March 15th exclusively on Disney+. As we previously reported, the concert film in its entirety for the first time includes the song “cardigan” and four additional acoustic songs. The history-making, cinematic experience is now the highest-grossing concert/documentary film of all time. The three-hour documentary made nearly $300 million at the worldwide box office, beating out the previous record holder, Michael Jackson’s This Is It. The posthumous 2009 doc grossed $261.2 million at the global box office. grossed more than $260 million worldwide at the global box office, making it the top-selling concert film of all time.

  • 'Road House'

    Coming this March is the remake that no one really asked for — the reboot of the 1989 original film starring the late Patrick Swayze and Sam Elliot will premiere on Prime Video on the 21st. The action-thriller stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Daniela Melchior, Conor McGregor, J. D. Pardo, Arturo Castro, and Billy Magnussen, with a cameo by Post Malone. Gyllenhaal plays the role of ex-UFC fighter Dalton with a penchant for violence, who takes a job as a bouncer at an out-of-control Florida Keys roadhouse. Dalton is barely scraping by on the reputation that still precedes him when he is spotted by Frankie (Jessica Williams), owner of a roadhouse in the Florida Keys. She hires him to be her new bouncer in hopes of stopping a violent gang, working for crime boss Brandt (Billy Magnussen), from destroying her beloved bar. Even five to one, Brandt’s crew is no match for Dalton’s skills. But the stakes get higher with the arrival of ruthless gun-for-hire Knox (McGregor). As the brutal brawls and bloodshed escalate, the tropical Keys prove more dangerous than anything Dalton ever faced in the Octagon.

  • '3 Body Problem'

    As the first show from Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, comes the science fiction novel adaptation of Cixin Liu’s The Three-Body Problem. The series begins in 1960s China, where a young woman makes a fateful decision that reverberates across space and time into the present day. When the laws of nature inexplicably unravel, a tight-knit group of brilliant scientists must join forces with an unflinching detective to stop humanity’s greatest threat. The show features GOT alums John Bradley, Liam Cunningham and Sir Jonathan Pryce, along with Benedict Wong and other lesser-known actors. Debuts March 21st.

Joel Katz is the Morning Show Personality, Assistant Program Director, Podcast Host, Voiceover artist, audio producer, and Digital Content Writer for Magic 98.3. Joel has been working in New Jersey radio since college and started at Magic in 2002 as the Morning Show Host, “I can’t think of another place where I’d fit more perfectly; it’s just a great company with awesome people.” Joel is married to Kathleen, his elementary school sweetheart (they were each other’s first dates at age 9), shares a birthday with his oldest son, Ty, and has twins, Kiera and Liam. Joel runs at least 3.1 miles every day and enjoys playing basketball, doing laundry, saving his turn signal for when he really needs it, kissing dogs through a fence, using coasters, making that cool noise by rubbing his fingers on balloons, and chasing after ping pong balls on a windy cruise ship.

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