Ad-Supported Netflix Tier Planned for Last Three Months of 2022, Crackdown on Account Sharing Coming

[MacRumors]

A more affordable, ad-supported Netflix plan could be introduced before the end of 2022, Netflix told employees in an internal letter (via The New York Times).

Netflix is currently planning to introduce the new ad-supported tier in the final three months of the year, with the plan aimed at attracting new subscribers who find the current pricing unaffordable.

The company has been steadily raising its prices for the last few years, and enacted a significant increase at the beginning of 2022. The basic streaming plan is now priced at $9.99, up from $8.99, and the standard plan that allows for HD streaming is priced at $15.49, up from $13.99 per month.

The highest-tier 4K Ultra HD streaming plan now costs $19.99, a $2 increase over the prior $17.99 price point. Netflix continues to be the only streaming service that prices by streaming quality, with other options like Disney+, Hulu, and Apple TV+ offering more straightforward pricing.

Netflix has long resisted implementing an ad-supported tier and has said multiple times in the past that the streaming service would never show ads, but it is hemorrhaging subscribers. Netflix in April said that it lost subscribers in the first quarter of the year, and it marked the first subscriber loss for Netflix in more than a decade. Netflix lost 200,000 subscribers, and expects to lose two million more next quarter.

The subscriber loss has been partially attributed to account sharing, which Netflix has said that it is going to crack down on. Netflix told employees in the letter that it plans to cut down on password sharing by restricting access to subscribers who share a household. Netflix estimates that 222 million paying households are sharing with an additional 100 million households that are not being monetized.

Netflix started testing an extra payment for those who share their Netflix accounts with people outside their households in March. In Netflix's current test markets of Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru, customers can pay an extra fee to share their accounts with two people outside of their household. When the test was launched, Netflix said that it was working to "understand the utility of these two features" before making changes in other countries.

Article Link: Ad-Supported Netflix Tier Planned for Last Three Months of 2022, Crackdown on Account Sharing Coming

 

[KaliYoni]

I have a great idea for a business: a platform that consolidates all the numerous streaming sites–movies, local TV, sports, lifestyle, blah blah blah—into one, easy-to-use service with a single monthly bill.

Oh, wait a minute...

 

[2540497]

Agree with the crackdown on account sharing.

 

[zachz]

Time to say good riddance to Netflix — way too expensive for what it is, majority of their content is low quality.

 

[erikkfi]

I defy the internet to say anything negative about these moves.

 

[Number 41]

Netflix’s business model is doomed at their price point.

It made sense when they had everyone else’s content, but they aren’t worth $20 when you also need to pay $5 for Parks & Rec on peacock, $5 for Star Trek on Paramount, $10 for the Sopranos on HBO, etc.

They didn’t evolve as the rest of the industry formed around them.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

I don't like Netflix anymore. Proudly cancelled my subscription long time ago.

The company has gotten greedy and they are charging for every little thing you can think of.

Apple TV+ for the win

 

[Martinpa]

The value isn’t there for me anymore ??‍♂️

 

[Macintosh TV]

They're bleeding money. They're certainly going to change some things.

Ad-free won't be cheaper. It'll take the place of the current one, and they'll keep increasing the larger paid packages. They just increased them last month.

 

[Six0Four]

Just bought a 5TB portable HDD. Setting up Plex as we speak. Peace Netflix ✌️

 

[TheDailyApple]

Music piracy mostly disappeared because streaming services like Spotify & Music created an easier and more enjoyable experience. Netflix is making the user experience harder and less enjoyable.

If people can have a more enjoyable experience for free, piracy will remain alive and well.

 

[brock2621]

It's just not worth it anymore to me. I bounced 2 months ago and haven't even noticed. Still have Disney+, still have Amazon, still have Apple and my wife and I as well as my kiddos play video games together more than sit down to watch movies now. Only have time on weekend evening to actually nestle down with food and watch something.

 

[Sampire51]

The company has gotten greedy and they are charging for every little thing you can think of.

Sounds like Apple that you're 100% loyal to.

 

[Realityck]

The subscriber loss has been partially attributed to account sharing, which Netflix has said that it is going to crack down on. Netflix told employees in the letter that it plans to cut down on password sharing by restricting access to subscribers who share a household. Netflix estimates that 222 million paying households are sharing with an additional 100 million households that are not being monetized.

I think the restriction is acceptable. Its easier to verify from a network standpoint. If people opt for the cheaper ad option, well you get to try it out to see if it annoys you. For me I'll still decline on that.

 

[TheDailyApple]

Every other major streaming service is cheaper and doesn’t charge extra for higher resolutions. Most’s catalogs are getting better and better while Netflix’s gets worse by the day.

It doesn’t matter how they monetize their customers, because if nothing changes then they won’t be keeping them.

 

[zorinlynx]

The crackdown on account sharing thing is so absurd. What's the difference between two people in the same house watching something on Netflix and two people in different houses? The cost to Netflix is the same. If they didn't want people doing this they shouldn't have allowed multiple streams in the first place.

I left Netflix for other reasons, got tired of the price going up and shows I like disappearing. But this certainly makes me less likely to come back.

 

[jarman92]

I can't imagine a company being so high on its own supply that they think the reason they're losing subscribers is account sharing rather than a) producing a fire hose of garbage content, and b) constantly raising the price they charge for that content.

 

[jarman92]

Sounds like Apple that you're 100% loyal to.

Apple has been greedy for years. The big difference is they continue to produce fantastic products, unlike Netflix.

 

[flexiboy1912]

I will be cancelling as no longer value for money and a rip for £16.

 

[OhMyMy]

Maybe if they stop throwing away so much money on crappy content and jack up the prices every few months people would actually be willing to pay for an account.

 

[BootsWalking]

Streaming companies are like dot-com startups - they promise the world when times are good but take away the free snacks and soft drinks when the money runs out.

 

[jarman92]

Every other major streaming service is cheaper and doesn’t charge extra for higher resolutions. Besides most’s catalogs are getting better and better while Netflix’s gets worse by the day.

It doesn’t matter how they monetize their customers, because if nothing changes then they won’t be keeping them.

Agreed. Though to be fair, the only other streaming service with a remotely comparable catalog of 4K HDR content is Disney.

 

[flexiboy1912]

Agree with the crackdown on account sharing.

And why is that?

 

[nutmac]

So if Netflix wants to blame their revenue decline on password sharing, are they going to lower the price for subscribers not sharing the password?

That is, if Netflix wants to charge $2.99/month for each additional stream often used outside the household (e.g., college kids, friends), it would be only fair to lower the price of Netflix Standard and Netflix Premium by at least $2.99/month.

 

[BootsWalking]

Maybe if they stop throwing away so much money on crappy content and jack up the prices every few months people would actually be willing to pay for an account.

Agreed. They operated under the trite "grow at any cost" business model, under the belief that once they reach a certain scale the barrier to entry for competitors will be too large to face competition. That only works out for a handful of companies - you can literally count the number they do on a single hand.