It also doesn’t mention that yeah, it’s $3 NOW, but knowing their history it will go to $5 in a few months. Then $6, then $7…
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Netflix to Begin Cracking Down on Password Sharing in Early 2023
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
We have a second home and I travel frequently. Hopefully their solution will also consider the profiles that are being used. It’s already well overpriced compared to competitors. If they start to nickel and dime on top of that. I’ll just cancel and then subscribe one month at a time to binge content I care about.
Is there a particular reason Netflix needs to charge more?
It's not like their content is better than HBO Max, Disney Plus, Peacock, or Hulu. All of these services offer their content in 4K for half the price.
Not exactly sure who's in charge of deciding the prices/features for each plan, but the people at Netflix need to be replaced. Their entire portfolio of content should be $4.99 a month at the most, and that's with 4K quality streaming. All of the real content is on the platforms I listed above.
It's not like their content is better than HBO Max, Disney Plus, Peacock, or Hulu. All of these services offer their content in 4K for half the price.
Not exactly sure who's in charge of deciding the prices/features for each plan, but the people at Netflix need to be replaced. Their entire portfolio of content should be $4.99 a month at the most, and that's with 4K quality streaming. All of the real content is on the platforms I listed above.
I thought there were rules that paid shills for a company had to identify their affiliation on forums such as this. Any lawyers out there know for sure?
You left out:
2020 - subscriptions spike because of pandemic restrictions and people WFH. Netflix and several other services seem to miss this obvious causal connection.
2022 - restrictions have eased and many have to return to the office. Supply chain disarray causes ridiculous inflation. People decide that the juice is no longer worth the squeeze and cancel the accounts. Earnings calls are made revealing the exodus and the financial impact of losing marketshare and not being a critical (or even particularly good) service. Stockholders must be appeased, so “password sharing” is offered up as the sacrificial lamb when it does not take an MBA to have seen that the pandemic and related restrictions were not going to last forever.
Some quick math for those that do not see how this will (most likely) negatively impact Netflix’s financials:
2 people “sharing” a $20 account across 2 households, utilizing 1 screen/house:
$240/year, two unused screens
2 people splitting this new fee structure:
$276/year; net gain: $36/year plus an extra subscriber to pad the numbers
2 people formerly “sharing” deciding to get their own basic accounts instead:
$240/year; a wash on revenue, but an extra subscriber for the numbers
2 people formerly sharing deciding Netflix offers enough value to justify a $20/month subscription each:
🤣🪦
2 people “sharing” a cancelled account:
$0/year; $240 net loss plus the loss of 1 subscription
2 people getting 1 month of basic and binging whatever scraps and bits have accumulated in their backlog:
$20/year; net loss of $220/year and maybe a minor blip in subscriber numbers depending on multiple variables
2 people formerly “sharing” moving to other services:
See the “shared cancelled account” scenario above since the result for Netflix is the same.
In almost all scenarios they stand to lose significantly. They will almost certainly never again see numbers like they did at the height of the pandemic, and consumers are going to be more discerning with their discretionary spending.
I am not pro-Netflix and have no affiliation with them. I could not care less if they fallow the trail blazed by Blockbuster. It is just a stupid business decision that tries to offer no additional value (arguably offering negative value) at a markup because of shortsightedness during a unique time.
2 people “sharing” a $20 account across 2 households, utilizing 1 screen/house:
$240/year, two unused screens
2 people splitting this new fee structure:
$276/year; net gain: $36/year plus an extra subscriber to pad the numbers
2 people formerly “sharing” deciding to get their own basic accounts instead:
$240/year; a wash on revenue, but an extra subscriber for the numbers
2 people formerly sharing deciding Netflix offers enough value to justify a $20/month subscription each:
🤣🪦
2 people “sharing” a cancelled account:
$0/year; $240 net loss plus the loss of 1 subscription
2 people getting 1 month of basic and binging whatever scraps and bits have accumulated in their backlog:
$20/year; net loss of $220/year and maybe a minor blip in subscriber numbers depending on multiple variables
2 people formerly “sharing” moving to other services:
See the “shared cancelled account” scenario above since the result for Netflix is the same.
In almost all scenarios they stand to lose significantly. They will almost certainly never again see numbers like they did at the height of the pandemic, and consumers are going to be more discerning with their discretionary spending.
I am not pro-Netflix and have no affiliation with them. I could not care less if they fallow the trail blazed by Blockbuster. It is just a stupid business decision that tries to offer no additional value (arguably offering negative value) at a markup because of shortsightedness during a unique time.
Last edited:
Good luck Netflix. If you start not allowing my kids in Uni to not use our family Netflix account (where they definitely are not under the same roof) we will drop you like a hot rock. You're no longer the only game in town.
They can't raise the price anymore with so much competition so it's the only way to squeeze out more "growth". They already force one device users who just want 4k quality to pay for the 4 device plan instead of just including it on the basic(like D+) or for $2-3 extra a month. Netflix is just begging people to share the account when they have no need for 3 extra streams at a time but want the 4k quality.
Last edited:
I feel this is very short sighted. The main reason I pay for the highest tier Netflix account is, to have up to 4 people use it at the same time. These are all family members btw, but they’re often traveling, or using it at a friends house.
So if I am now the only one allowed to use the account, first thing I would do is downgrade to a cheaper tier, since me alone would never reach the 4 devices limit and I couldn’t care less about 4K.
Secondly, sharing my account with other is the main reason I don’t even think about the subscription going on now for many years. Because at least someone from the family uses and benefits from it. Once I am the only user, I could just cancel and re subscribe for a month whenever I am in the mood, eg when there is a new show I’m interested in. Then cancel again. In the end Netflix would get possibly 20% the money from me that they get now. Am I really the only one thinking like that?
So if I am now the only one allowed to use the account, first thing I would do is downgrade to a cheaper tier, since me alone would never reach the 4 devices limit and I couldn’t care less about 4K.
Secondly, sharing my account with other is the main reason I don’t even think about the subscription going on now for many years. Because at least someone from the family uses and benefits from it. Once I am the only user, I could just cancel and re subscribe for a month whenever I am in the mood, eg when there is a new show I’m interested in. Then cancel again. In the end Netflix would get possibly 20% the money from me that they get now. Am I really the only one thinking like that?
Exactly my thought. Too many other options to play these games with Netflix. I paid for premium service and 4 simultaneous streams. Now I have to pay more because my kid is away at college, but I don’t have to pay more if he is attending a local JC. What the hell difference does that make?
This is my situation. I share our account with immediate family members. Some of my kids are away at college. One of them works remote and moves around the country a lot. I bought the premium tier for the 4 simultaneous streams. If they start to gouge me for that, I am done with Netflix.
Asking about families that move away or seperate from their kids but still want the account for the family is a perfectly reasonable question. I have found nothing about that in the TOS or their FAQ. They do know families to separate locations all the time, be it kids go to college or parents decide the move, or just everyone going their separate ways and lives. Netflix is penalizing people who have had accounts with them for years.
Except it's easy to share 2FA logins (whether they be TOTP or SMS-based) if you're technically inclined. If they moved to this, you can be sure everyone would be "technically inclined" very quickly.
How is this going to work for people who use Netflix on public transport or in cafes (with public WiFi)?
How is it going to work for people who have a "weekday house" and a "weekender".
How is it going to work for people who go to their kids' house to babysit and take their laptop with them to watch some Netflix?
How is it going to work for people who have a separate home internet connection and business internet connection and sometimes watch some Netflix in their home office?
How is it going to work for people with dynamic, NATed IP addresses at their ISP, which change frequently (my ISP does this unless you pay extra for a static IP).
How is it going to work if you have a privacy-enhancing VPN on your internet gateway?
Basically, how is it going to work?
Whatever. I enjoy TV+ for less than half the price with just one tier: multiple screens, ad free, family sharing, no geo blocking and 4K streaming.
Last edited:
No, I don't. Do they actually know? I know I am one subscriber that won't return on a permanent basis. Like you said, and I said. It's modelling which is a way of using the information to predict the future. And it's only a prediction. All I said was that it was unKNOWN, nothing about fingers in the air.
Anecdotally, I have heard here and elsewhere, that people are doing temporary subscriptions and leaving. I've had my account for about 5 years. At best I would only keep it 2 months at a time and several months off. How is that financially better for Netflix?
It’s much more complex than simple piracy. It’s more of a marketing issue because most people learn about new programs and get “addicted” while they are using other people’s accounts. Kind of like the old Adobe Photoshop model. Also consider arrangements like my own. I only pay for the more expensive Netflix 4K subscription because my father in law uses our Netflix outside our household. As soon as they disallow that, I will lower our sub (or maybe just cancel altogether). We also share our Netflix with others who in turn share their Disney with us. It’s a complex ecosystem and Netflix is disrupting it but their programming is among the weakest of offerings so they only risk disrupting their own revenue negatively.