Netflix expands password crackdown
Netflix has started cracking down on password sharing in Canada and three other countries — attempting to force viewers who don’t live with a main account holder to pay an additional fee or buy their own subscription.
Netflix said Wednesday the password-sharing measures would begin immediately in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain.
“Today, over 100 million households are sharing accounts — impacting our ability to invest in great new TV and films,” the company said in a statement, using global numbers.
Last year, Netflix carried out trials in Chile, Peru and Costa Rica, which allowed members to create sub-accounts for users living at different addresses for $2 to $3 per month. Now Netflix says it is ready to roll out its new system “more broadly in the coming months.”
It has not announced details about when or how it will extend the plans to other locations, including when changes will come to the United States.
Users in the countries affected by Wednesday’s changes will have to choose a primary location.
They will then have two options. One is transferring users who are not at that primary location to a separate paid account, which would enable the other users to keep their recommendations, viewing history and list of saved films and series.
Otherwise, Netflix will offer customers the option of buying up to two extra profiles for people living outside their own household. This will depend on the account holder’s own subscription level. Standard plans will allow one extra member on the account; premium plans will allow two. Basic subscriptions will be excluded completely.
The price for additional profiles will vary by country, with users in Spain paying about $6.44 for each additional profile per month. The cost will be $6 in Canada and in New Zealand, around $5. In Portugal, the price is $4.29.
Under the new rules, Netflix says its members will still be able to “easily watch Netflix on their personal devices or log into a new TV, like at a hotel or holiday rental.” But it is unclear how this will work in practice.
After initially losing subscribers at the beginning of 2022, Netflix beat forecasts to add 7.7 million new paid users in the fourth quarter of 2022 — thanks in no small part to the success of the Addams Family spinoff Wednesday and the Harry & Meghan documentary.