It’s no secret that streaming TV and movies services like Netflix, HBO Go and Showtime Anytime have a lot of viewers who aren’t paying customers. They’re “sharing” the login credentials of friends and family who are cable subscribers.

For the most part, these media companies have looked the other way. In HBO’s case, one executive even chalked it up to marketing. For the most part, no one’s been able to quantify just how much that “marketing” is costing the streaming industry – until now.

Variety reports that research firm Parks Associates believes Netflix, HBO and others are leaving as much as $500 million on the table this year by not putting the hammer down on password sharing.

…About 6% of U.S. broadband households use an over-the-top video service paid by someone living outside of the household, the firm estimated. Unauthorized password-sharing is most rampant among consumers 18-24, with 20% of OTT users in that age bracket binge-watching on someone else’s dime, Parks says. The data is based on a consumer survey of 10,000 U.S. broadband households conducted in Q3 2014.

From the article "Streaming services losing big bucks to password sharing" by Dwight Silverman.

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