In July Netflix announced an update… the most striking? they could no longer share accounts, or rather, would have to pay an extra amount to do it. All this followed the announcement of its financial results for the second quarter of 2022, which had come with subscriber losses (for the first time in a decade) and a sharp drop in the stock market.
Netflix executives found the main problem in shared accounts and decided to take action on the matter. Read on to find out the details.
The first reaction
After seeing losses in the middle of the year, the giant of streaming is pressured and decides to respond with force. It was said at some point that Netflix would forbid share accounts, but the reality was not that. The solution devised by the company was to charge more for doing so.
In some Latin American countries, the new program was established on a trial basis: you would have to pay an extra amount if you wanted to use the same user in other locations. This change would clash with a fairly common practice, and that is that it was not uncommon for friends or family share the same account still living in different houses.
The test countries were Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and Honduras; and although the approach was understandable since this practice seemed to provide real damage to the company; it was not not at all well received in the community.
It should be noted that there are certain holes in the strategy, people who are simply traveling or use Netflix on their phones and want to watch their favorite series anywhere away from home, had to pay the extra fee.
Other announcements that did not create such a stir, but that were not liked very much in the community, were the new prices and the addition of a new plan with integrated ads (which Netflix is working on in partnership with Microsoft).
"The retrocess"; Netflix would allow account sharing again
The people won, Netflix listened to the community, Netflix regretted their decision. These were some headlines that were seen all over the internet, the reason? netflix sent emails to all its users located in the countries with the new system explaining that the extra houses function would be discontinued.
However, these headlines could be being naive.
Completion of this "Trial" comes hand in hand with a platform update released on October 17. In this update, the new function “Profile Transfer” was added., which allows any user using a "borrowed" account to transfer their credentials to their own account to pay for their own membership, and thus not lose their data.
They were making it more comfortable for people so that They will pay their own bill.
The reality is that what some called a "pushback" was just another move by the entertainment giant. The system of extra houses is still in the company's plans, only that they will take the time necessary to implant it. Sharing our Netflix accounts will soon be a thing of the past.
Netflix won't let you share free accounts
The fact that the company discontinued the “Add a house” function in some countries does not mean that it agrees with account sharing, it did not change its terms of use. The tests carried out released results that will allow working on a better thought-out system.
In fact, some of the particularities that in the future the “add a house” function will have:
- A house with each account: Any Netflix account will include access from home; In this house you can enjoy Netflix on any device.
- Payment option for extra houses: To use your Netflix account for additional homes, you can pay $2.99 per month per additional home. Basic plan members can add an extra house; those of the Standard plan, up to two extra houses, and those of the Premium plan, up to three extra houses.
- Trips included: You can watch Netflix on the go on a tablet, laptop, or mobile device.
- New feature to manage houses: Soon you will be able to control where your account is being used. You can also remove houses at any time you want, from the configuration page of your account.
According to the latest information, these changes would come into force in 2023; all are subject to change. However, the message to keep in mind is that what Netflix did these days was not a "throwback". Rather prepare the ground for in 2023 to finish the task that was proposed a few months ago: reduce losses from shared accounts.
Current situation of the company
From browsing the social networks and seeing the opinions about everything the platform does, the idea that comes is one:
"Netflix continues to plummet and everything seems to be going from bad to worse"
However, this idea is incorrect.
In the last quarter, while Netflix was supposedly in a crisis, the platform gained 2,4 million subscribers and increased its market value by 14%. Despite all the popularity the platform seemed to have lost, He had a good quarter. According to numerous media, this is due to the magnificent titles that it launched in this period. (Dahmer, Stranger Things season 4, among others)
As far as platforms are concerned streaming, Netflix is head and shoulders above the rest, a throne from which it is quite difficult to bring down.