Andy Samberg gave out a working HBO Now password at the Emmys

“Luckily for you, the CEO of HBO recently said he doesn’t think password sharing for their streaming services is a problem,” Samberg said, referring to HBO CEO Richard Plepler who last year said that password sharing doesn’t hurt its business.

“So, here’s my HBO Now login,” said Samberg, complete with a Game of Thrones reference:

Thanks for the @HBO log in info, Andy! (Does this mean it’s okay to watch #GoT instead of the #Emmys right now?) pic.twitter.com/uPZVsOTQ3H

— HuffPost Live (@HuffPostLive) September 21, 2015

Immediately, people began logging into the recently launched over-the-top streaming service to investigate whether it was legitimate. Much to everyone’s surprise, it worked before too many people started logging into it. However, a smattering of problems began affecting people’s ability to use it: Too many people logged into the service, blocking others out. And those who did get in tampered with the account. 

So yes, that HBO Now login works, and everyone’s having a TON of fun changing the profile. #Emmys #EWEmmys pic.twitter.com/RyJZmActlz

— Shirley Li (@shirklesxp) September 21, 2015

People keep changing the free HBO NOW account to ridiculous new user names/emails. Changes every few seconds. #Emmys pic.twitter.com/bJybLZTaUD

— Marlow Stern (@MarlowNYC) September 21, 2015

Freeloaders. #Emmys pic.twitter.com/w0XQZrvGVY

— Christina Warren (@film_girl) September 21, 2015

The login still works for us, but streaming an (award-winning!) show or movie is slow. So, was this an elaborate real-time marketing stunt orchestrated between HBO and Samberg, who recently starred in a HBO movie? Appears so. HBO Now’s Twitter account tweeted this shortly after:

If anyone needs some @HBO recommendations, we’ll be here all night. Apparently. Thanks, @AndySamberg. #Emmys — HBO NOW (@hbonow) September 21, 2015

And for those having problems logging in, HBO was offering a free thirty day trial to HBO Now.

Digiday has reached out to HBO to learn how this was organized. Your move, Amazon Prime.