Sharing Netflix accounts beyond your household is could be about to come to an end as the streaming giant says it will be rolling out paid sharing options to more regions soon.
Netflix said in its Q4 2022 earnings report that it will be rolling out paid sharing “more broadly later in Q1 ’23” following its trial in parts of South America. The company expects some “cancel reaction” in each market as it rolls out paid sharing, but also expects subscriptions to pick up in the second quarter, resulting in better overall revenues — the company’s main metric right now.
“Today’s widespread account sharing (100M+ households) undermines our long-term ability to invest in and improve Netflix, as well as build our business. While our terms of use limit use of Netflix to a household, we recognize this is a change for members who share their account more broadly,” Netflix said.
New features to accompany paid sharing include members being able to review which devices are using their account. Subscribers and borrowers can also transfer a profile to a new account, and subscribers can opt to pay for people living outside a household. In the end, someone has to pay, be it the household or the borrower.
“As we roll out paid sharing, members in many countries will also have the option to pay extra if they want to share Netflix with people they don’t live with. As is the case today, all members will be able to watch while traveling, whether on a TV or mobile device.”
In July, Netflix ditched its “add a Home” feature in Argentina, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras based on user feedback. In place of that, it allowed people not living in a subscriber’s household to transfer their Netflix profile to their own account and keep all their recommendations and preferences when they start paying. Also, it gave subscribers the option to pay for others by creating sub-accounts via an “extra member” option.
January 20, 2023
Written by Liam Tung
