Netflix is finally cracking down on password-sharing after warning subscribers for months that it was in the works. The company’s latest earnings report says it expects to roll out “paid sharing” in the next few months as a way for the company to begin earning more money in the long run. This also includes introducing the ad-based subscription tier.
Netflix says the ability to pay money in order to share passwords through paid sharing will roll out “more broadly” during this fiscal quarter or in the coming months. The streaming platform believes that more than 100 million homes currently share passwords which “undermines” the company’s ability to “invest and improve” the service. Password-sharing has always been one of Netflix’s key attractions, but the company says it needs to introduce paid sharing in order to “build our business.”
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Of course, Netflix is fully aware how this may negatively impact the streaming service in the short term. Subscribers are already not taking kindly to the decision to add ads as part of one of the service’s cheaper tiers, but the paid sharing will deter more people who rely on one payment access for multiple accounts, especially for families.
Netflix previously rolled out the testing phase for paid sharing to countries like Argentina and Honduras. If the global roll out is anything similar, password-sharers will be charged a few extra dollars to share multiple accounts.
There will be some options available, though. If your profile is under your parents or guardians membership, you’ll be able to transfer that profile onto your own new paid account. However, if you’re relying on another Netflix subscriber that allows you onto their plan, they’ll be able to create a “sub-account” in order to keep paying for that profile to stay active. We aren’t sure how much this will cost yet, but we will probably find out in the coming months.
Netflix is already coming under fire for its mistreatment of original shows which, in most cases, don’t make it past one season. The streaming service has already canned several promising shows after its initial season, including Cowboy Bebop, 1899, Inside Job and more. Netflix attributes this to the completion rate in which viewers start certain shows but don’t finish them. Ballooning budgets are also listed as possible reasons behind these cancellations.
Source: Netflix