Netflix has confirmed that it will start taking Crackdown on password sharing before the end of 2022.
We already knew that the streaming giant was testing in certain countries to add a surcharge to any family that watched Netflix content using another family’s account. Now, new reports confirm that it will be extended to all territories where Netflix operates.
About 100 million households share a password with another account. So while Netflix has 221 million paying subscribers, the actual number of viewers is much higher.
Netflix is ​​testing a system in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru in which a $2.99 ​​surcharge was added to accounts that wanted to share their passwords with people outside the household.
The test must have been a success, because, according to New York Timesthe company told employees that will launch a crackdown on password sharing in the last three months of 2022that is, already in October.
The news comes at a time when Netflix is ​​struggling to increase its revenue.
What does this mean for me?
You can share an account with a partner you do not currently live with, or your parents, while you are studying, or perhaps share the cost with a group of friends. Now, it will cost you more money to do so.
With the recent price increase, this surcharge will likely cause many Netflix subscribers to abandon the service altogether. Presumably, company executives will have estimated that revenue from increasing the number of paying subscribers will offset service cancellations.
Why is Netflix doing this now?
As Netflix continued to grow and its stock price was soaring, there was no reason for the company to do anything that would make it unpopular with subscribers, but now it needs cash.
Increasing competition from other streaming services like HBO Max and Disney Plus has not only made the fight to grow its subscriber base more difficult, but these services are now monopolizing their content, forcing Netflix to invest more and more money in carrying out your own movies. and series.