In its earnings report on Friday, Jan. 20, Netflix revealed that it intends to implement new regulations regarding the paid sharing of passwords "more broadly" towards the end of the first quarter of 2023.
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According to The Verge, Netflix acknowledges this is a shift for customers who use their accounts for more than just their family. It says, "While our terms of use limit [the] use of Netflix to a household, we recognize this is a change for members who share their account more broadly."
Therefore, members in several countries will soon be able to pay extra if they wish to share Netflix with non-household members.
It was also revealed that co-CEO Ted Sarandos and former chief operating officer Greg Peters will take over for retiring CEO Reed Hastings.
Hastings has been Netflix's head for the last 25 years. He will not be departing the firm entirely but rather transitioning into the post of executive chair.
Netflix anticipates a "cancel" response in each market once password sharing is introduced. Still, the long-term benefits of customers paying for additional accounts would result in better overall income. Without specifying a price or effective date, "later in Q1'23" might refer to any period after April.
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New Password-sharing Guidelines
For months, all signs pointed to this inevitable conclusion.
In October 2022, the streaming service giant unveiled a feature that made it simple for customers to transfer their profiles to another household member. Netflix has also released a new feature that allows you to remotely control the devices connected to your account and lock out any unwelcome guests, such as friends or family members who have been watching without permission.
As part of its ongoing efforts to reduce password sharing, Netflix in South America has started requiring customers to pay for a second sub-account if the service determines that an account is being used by someone who does not live in the primary residence. This is happening in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru.
According to a Rest of World study from May 2022, subscribers in Peru said they had not been properly informed about the new rules and that enforcement levels differed across users.
In a separate development, the service began allowing subscribers in Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic to purchase secondary "homes" for usage by anybody who does not live in the subscriber's main household.
Reassuring Investments
As subscriber growth lags, Netflix is taking measures to appease investors. One of these measures is a crackdown on password sharing.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Wednesday, Bullet Train, and Harry & Meghan are just a few of the excellent new releases from the firm in recent months. In November 2022, an ad-supported tier was released.
Despite Netflix's claims that it is pleased with the early results, data from subscriber analytics firm Antenna suggests that the company may be having trouble getting off the ground.
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