Entertainment is an integral and important part of human life. That entertainment has changed with time, first, there was radio, then television, theatre, cinema, then mobile, and now OTT. And when people say OTT, the first name that pops into mind is Netflix.
Yes, Netflix is the most popular OTT platform around the world.
A few days ago, Netflix surprised users by reducing their subscription amount, but this time Netflix brought very lamentable news for users!
Netflix’s new step!
Netflix will take action against major Netflix users who share their accounts or account passwords with friends or anyone outside of their family. The streaming company recently took step on password sharing in some Latin American countries, and in February did the same for users in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal, and Spain.
However, while Netflix will currently only take this action against users in the US, the company has not yet announced plans to do so in India. Because this popular streaming company is very focused on increasing the number of users of its ad-supported plans in India.
What consequences will face the users?
All major Netflix users in the US who share their account or account password with someone outside of their family, a friend, or someone else will now have to pay extra.
Netflix's Blog Post:
In a blog post, Netflix said, “We’ve always made it easy for people who live together to share their Netflix account with features like profiles and multiple streams. While these have been hugely popular, they’ve also created confusion about when and how you can share Netflix. Today, over 100 million households are sharing accounts — impacting our ability to invest in great new TV and films.
So over the last year, we’ve been exploring different approaches to address this issue in Latin America, and we’re now ready to roll them out more broadly in the coming months, starting today in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain. Our focus has been on giving members greater control over who can access their account.
Set primary location: We’ll help members set this up, ensuring that anyone who lives in their household can use their Netflix account.
Manage account access and devices: Members can now easily manage who has access to their account from our new Manage Access and Devices page.
Transfer profile: People using an account can now easily transfer a profile to a new account, which they pay for — keeping their personalized recommendations, viewing history, My List, saved games and more.
Watch while you travel: Members can still easily watch Netflix on their personal devices or log into a new TV, like at a hotel or holiday rental.
Buy an extra member: Members on our Standard or Premium plan in many countries (including Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain) can add an extra member sub account for up to two people they don’t live with — each with a profile, personalized recommendations, login and password — for an extra CAD$7.99 a month per person in Canada, NZD$7.99 in New Zealand, Euro 3.99 in Portugal, and Euro 5.99 in Spain.
We value our members and recognize that they have many entertainment choices. A Netflix account is intended for one household and members can choose from a range of plans with different features (see chart below). As always, we’ll refine these new features based on member feedback so that we continue to improve Netflix in the years ahead.
They also posted the below image with the Blog post:
How much extra money does one have to pay Netflix users for sharing an account?”
In the same blog post, Netflix said that users can share their Netflix account with someone who lives in the same household. But, for two additional users who dosn’t live with the primary account holder, user have to pay CAD$7.99 (approx. Rs. 661), NZD$7.99 (approx. Rs. 406), Portuguese Euro 3.99 (approx. Rs. 356), and Spanish Euro 5.99 (approx. Rs. 535) per month.
However, it should be noted that this price is set for users in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal, and Spain, and based on the market, Netflix will adopt different strategies in the coming days
How much extra money does one have to pay US Netflix users for sharing an account?
Explaining the move, The Verge said, that users who used the two cheapest plans of Netflix – Basic or Standard with Ads, which cost $9.99 (Rs. 830) and $6.99 (Rs. 589) per month respectively, Can’t share their account or account password with other members.
Users with Netflix’s ad-free Standard plan ($15.49 or Rs.1,290 per month) can add an additional member for an additional $7.99 per month. Users with a Netflix Premium subscription with 4K playback can add two additional members for the same $7.99 per month.
Netflix has taken this step in the US and users will have to pay GNB 4.99 (roughly Rs. 510).
Netflix users are advised to check the freeloader by going to the “Manage access and devices” section in the settings menu. Here, a user can see all the devices using the Netflix account.
After seeing its last quarter results, Netflix said that the company noticed adverse effects from users sharing accounts with others. But this new move is expected to give the company long-term growth.
What for India?
The company may not need this strategy in countries like India due to its huge population and smartphone usage as the company has noticed huge growth in users in India. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos met India’s IB Minister Anurag Thakur last February, and informed him that Indian regional content is the most watched worldwide.
