Netflix is right to charge for sharing passwords

Netflix might lose some customers if they start charging people for sharing passwords, but in the long run it’s definitely going to pay off for them (‘What’s all the Fuss About?’, Issue 631, page 49). By not charging so far, they made the mistake of devaluing their service and people took it for granted.

Introducing a free service with adverts is also a good idea. Adverts are a great way of determining what consumers are prepared to pay for. Many people loathe them, and will be happy to pay to skip them. Others don’t mind them, and will be delighted that the marketing departments of major companies are in effect paying for their viewing pleasure.

Loads of other streaming services have hit upon the successful business equation, which can be summarised like this: the more annoying the adverts, the more people will pay to avoid them. I can’t believe it has taken Netflix so long to follow suit. Steve Franklin

I’m one of the millions who subscribed to Netflix in the first week of the first lockdown, and cancelled it within weeks of the final lockdown lifting. For me, it was a temporary experiment in TV streaming that was entirely driven by not being able to go to the pub or my Royal British Legion branch. There wasn’t much for me to watch on it. There was a heavy bias towards US drama, and tacky documentaries.

I understand the appeal of Netflix and other streaming services, but they don’t feel like proper TV channels to me. I’m in my 70s, so I grew up watching just three (then four) channels that had a daily schedule you felt comfortable with. You knew roughly when there would be quiz shows, chat shows, sport, news and so on. They felt like companions to your life, always on in the background. But you can’t leave Netflix on in the background like that. That doesn’t suit my style of viewing, and it looks like many others are now switching off too. Nigel Kirby