The decision is made. After multiple tests and years of rumors, Netflix hasannounced that it will be actively tackling password sharing by 2023. Thefirst step has already been taken.
The dreaded news was shared during the company’s latest quarterly earningsrelease.
Netflix is doing well again
Speaking of which, the streaming service is already doing a lot better. Aftera few mediocre quarters, resulting in major layoffs and blows on the stockmarket, the numbers now look a lot rosier.
Netflix gained 104,000 paid subscribers last quarter. In comparison: in thesame period last year there were 73,000. A stark contrast from early thisyear, when the company announced it had lost subscribers for the first time ina decade.
From tests to official
Anyway, back to sharing passwords. This year, Netflix started a striking testin Argentina and Guatemala, among others. Users who tried to stream a movie orseries in a different location than the main owner of the subscription inquestion were told that they had to pay for a ‘sub account’ themselves.
The streaming service has tested various approaches, but now the message isofficially clear: password sharing will be definitively addressed in 2023.Netflix launched the first step in that direction last week.
First step for new accounts
It is now possible to use a special Profile Transfer- tool to export yourpersonal recommendations, watch history, watchlist and saved games to a newaccount. It should be clear that this will create the infrastructure to enableaccount-sharing users to move to their own paid account as smoothly aspossible.
Add to that the cheaper subscription with advertising that will be launched inNovember, and you get a clear overall picture.
Sharing accounts in 2023
The foundation for 2023 is being laid: ‘Hey, we see that you are sharing anaccount, that is not the intention. With this button you can easily transferyour viewing history to a new account. Don’t worry, that’s extra cheap thanksto our new subscription!’
The exact timing and operation of the measures has not yet been announced. Wewill undoubtedly hear more about this in early 2023. To be continued!
Rock hard numbers
Meanwhile, Netflix brags about its position in the streaming landscape: “It’shard to build a large and profitable streaming business – our best guess isthat all our competitors are losing money on streaming, with total annualdirect operating losses just this. years that could be well over ten billiondollars, compared to our five to six billion dollars in annual profit.”