It's official: Max, the streaming platform from Warner Bros. Discovery, is following in the footsteps of Netflix and Disney+. In the United States, subscribers can now add an "extra member" to their account for a few extra dollars per month. This news will sound familiar to those who have seen the streaming giants declare war on password sharing.
The option, simply called "Extra Member," is offered for a fixed price ($7.99) regardless of the plan (with or without ads, standard or premium). The principle: a member outside the household can benefit from independent access with their own identifiers, but on a single profile and a single device at a time. The "Extra Member" option was recently launched in the United States and could arrive in France in the near future, although no official date has yet been announced.
Max joins the ranks
But ultimately, is this battle for the single profile a real innovation? Remember that Max is not at all the only platform, nor the first, to disapprove of account sharing. This is a common value across all video streaming services, which have each introduced special plans for those who share the same subscription. Obviously, these are more expensive.
Since 2023, Netflix has ended years of tacit tolerance by introducing billing for members outside the household. In France, this costs between €5.99 and €6.99. Disney+, for its part, has announced an equivalent measure in the United States, and should roll it out in France by the end of 2025. In other words: everyone is aligning. But beyond the price, it's the way it's sold that makes the difference.
The subscription war continues
More than technical access, it's above all a viewing identity that's at stake. Personalized recommendations, history, personalized settings... We no longer just want to watch a series, we want to continue where we left off, with our series, our algorithm, which each form a part of our bubble. The platforms have understood that this data has an emotional as well as a commercial value and are having fun reselling us an expected functionality, to which we could have been entitled in the past, at no extra cost.
Netflix was a pioneer in profile transfer, Max is also getting involved, and it could well become the norm. In the future, changing platforms could look like move with its boxes of algorithms under its arm. At a time when all subscriptions are increasing their prices, it takes a real commercial and marketing strategy to succeed in not collapsing under the weight of the people's court.
Fortunately, Max is in the public's good graces at the moment. Indeed, the platform is hosting the broadcast of season 2 of The Last of Us, of White Lotus before it, and promises us a new season of House of the Dragon next year. There is no shortage of quality content and it's made to last.
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