So remember that time when HBO CEO Richard Plepler said that he didn’t care if users shared their HBO account passwords? Apparently, so did Emmy host Andy Samberg. Joking around tonight at the 67th Annual Emmy Awards, the comedian gave out what he said was his login and password to the HBO NOW streaming service.
But it wasn’t just a joke as it turned out – it was a functioning HBO NOW account.
“Luckily for you, the CEO of HBO recently said he doesn’t think password sharing for their streaming services is a problem,” Samberg said. “So here’s my HBO Now login!”
The login details, in case you’re interested:
“Khaleesifan3@emmyhost.com” is the user name, and “password1” is the password.
“Gotta have a number in there, throw ’em off the scent,” said Samberg.
“You’re welcome,” he added.
Of course, we tried the account immediately, assuming that it was a joke. But to our surprise, the login actually worked. We were in!
Well, for a minute, at least. Upon subsequent attempts, the account no longer works.
As it turned out, much of America had the same idea to try the login as well. And now the account gives the error message that there are “too many devices in use.”
It was good while it lasted!
The account information @AndySamberg gave for @HBO Now is actually very real, but it says: pic.twitter.com/YSf6eatWjK
— Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) September 21, 2015
So Andy’s HBO Now works… pic.twitter.com/70uB7cPMk0
— Christina Warren (@film_girl) September 21, 2015
Best HBO marketing idea in a while. It works. #HBONOW #Emmys2015 pic.twitter.com/paHJeIbRGL
— James Viscardi (@JimViscardi) September 21,
2015
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Update: According to Variety, HBO heard that Samberg would joke about HBO’s password sharing, but only learned of the details live, along with TV viewers. The HBO team improvised to set up an account with the credentials immediately. However, the account hit the login limits and has since been deactivated.