Netflix Considering Password Sharing Crackdown and Bringing In Ads

Netflix announced yesterday that they’re rolling out a CHEAPER version . . . with ads. But it may not happen for another year or two, and as early as next year, password sharing may come to an end.

Netflix also estimates that 100 million households are sharing passwords, with more than 30 million of those in the U.S. and Canada. Netflix suggested it will begin to make accounts that share passwords pay up.  

Netflix has long ignored password sharing because it has been growing without cracking down on it, but the company announced it lost subscribers in the first quarter for the first time in more than a decade.

Netflix warned a global crackdown on password sharing is coming. It seems like a serious warning this time, and it could mean an end to the rampant practise of borrowing a family member’s or friend’s — or loose acquaintance’s — login information.

Related: Netflix Pulls Service From Russia!..

Netflix acknowledged it has purposefully allowed generous out-of-home password sharing because it helped get users hooked on the service. But with competition from Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Global, NBCUniversal, Apple TV+ and other streamers eating into its growth, Netflix said it wants the millions of households sharing passwords to start paying.

Netflix reported a loss of 200,000 paid subscribers in the first quarter ended March 31 — the first time in more than 10 years Netflix has lost subscribers during a quarter. The company projected it will lose 2 million more subscribers in the second quarter.

The streaming platform currently has 222 million subscribers worldwide. It enjoyed booming growth during the pandemic, but that customer surge has subsided — and now turned negative — as Covid-19 quarantines have largely lifted.

Netflix didn’t outline a concrete global strategy yet but suggested global changes could come as early as 2023.