Despite the internet memes and pushback, Netflix is going in strong to crack down on password-sharing practices. After Latin America, New Zealand, Spain, Portugal, and Canada, Netflix is now shifting focus to British subscribers later this month.
Netflix estimates that almost 100million households across the world share their passwords with friends and family. Almost 4million of the total 15million UK subscribers supposedly share their passwords as per research firm Digital i’s estimate.
The streaming giant has warned telecom companies like Sky, Virgin Media, TalkTalk, and BT to brace themselves for possible backlash and queries from customers who watch Netflix content through bundled services that combine their TV and broadband packages. The days of nonchalant jokes about not paying for a Netflix account and piggybacking on an ex’s nephew’s next-door neighbour’s account really seem to be coming to an end.
Netflix is also keen on getting paying customers to set up and only access their accounts from a primary location. Subscribers will receive a warning when they try to use their accounts in different locations and be encouraged to use a “paid sharing” model where new users can access the same account for an extra fee every month. In a bid to increase profitability and subscriber growth, Netflix will be charging customers a monthly surcharge on top of their existing subscriptions if one account is accessed from more than one household. Netflix will be using WiFi addresses in addition to the set primary location to figure out if an account is being used in multiple locations.
After their initial crackdown efforts, the OTT giant has been charging an additional C$7.99 per month per person in Canada, NZ$7.99 in New Zealand, €3.99 in Portugal, and €5.99 in Spain. Netflix plans to charge the more affluent countries higher fees but has introduced a new pricing tier that includes advertising for the first time.
