Netflix expands its campaign against password sharing to more nations
Spain, Canada, Portugal, and New Zealand are the additional four nations where Netflix is imposing restrictions on password exchange.
If subscribers in certain nations want to share their membership with relatives and friends who don’t reside with them, they must pay an additional cost.
The decision, which will take effect in the UK by the end of March, comes in response to a ban on password sharing in South America.
According to Netflix, 100 million individuals globally use shared accounts.
The company claimed that Netflix’s capacity to invest in fresh television content was hampered by the revenue loss from the shared accounts. It has stated that it intends to expand the new strategy to more nations in the upcoming months.
A blog post published on Wednesday stated, “Over the past year, we’ve been investigating various techniques to mitigate this problem in Latin America.” “We’re now ready to roll them out more extensively in the coming months, starting today in Spain, Portugal, Canada, and New Zealand.”
It has previously been simple for customers to give their login details and password to friends who live outside of their home.
When it tweeted, “Love is sharing a password,” in 2017, Netflix even seemed to be endorsing the behavior.
However, increasing consumer membership cancellations due to rising living expenses and competitive pressures in the streaming industry have forced Netflix to concentrate on increasing its revenue.
The company claimed that permitting accounts to be used by multiple people in a single household had “caused confusion” regarding who could share what and how.
Members in Canada, New Zealand, Spain, and Portugal, according to the announcement, will now be required to establish a “principal location” for their accounts and control who has access to them.
According to the statement, subscribers could still access Netflix when travelling on their own devices and by checking in from different locations, such as a hotel.
Gregory Peters, Netflix’s COO, admitted last month that the adjustments would not be “broadly beloved” and warned investors to anticipate some cancellations.
Netflix witnessed a dramatic decline in its subscriber base throughout the first half of 2022. To offset rising costs, it slashed hundreds of employees and raised prices.
However, the business experienced a greater-than-anticipated increase in user growth in the final quarter of 2022, up 7.66 million, bringing its total number of loyal customers globally to about 231 million.
It launched a less expensive ad-supported alternative in 12 nations in November, including the majority of Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States.