[玄 史生, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons]

Netflix Cracks Down On A Fan Favorite

If you are sharing your Netflix password with a friend or relative, you can expect to be getting a bill if you want to continue. The biggest streamer in the world has grown tired of losing money from plan sharing and has implemented a policy to put a stop to it. 

The Wall Street Journal writes that “the streaming giant said users can pay an extra $7.99 monthly fee to add an external user to their account. The company said it plans to alert U.S. subscribers who are currently sharing a password outside their household via email. The change is expected to generate new revenue.

Netflix three months ago announced a similar plan for users in Canada, Spain, Portugal and New-Zealand to crack down on shared passwords.

Netflix rolled out the changes as it aims to cut $300 million in spending in 2023 in a push to improve profitability. Customers in other markets initially balked at its campaign against password-sharing, but many ultimately paid for their own accounts in order to watch hit content, the company has said.”

“Prior to bringing the new policy to the U.S., the company has previously implemented a crackdown on password-sharing in other countries. It first did so with ‘different approaches’ in Latin America, followed by a rollout of paid-sharing in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain,” FOX Business reported

“Netflix had indicated in April that the U.S. and other countries would see the introduction of paid-sharing in the second quarter as part of a wider launch. The streaming giant said at the time that it had ‘shifted out the timing of the broad launch’ from its original first-quarter target due to changes that it thought “will lead to even better results.”

The company reported having a total of 232.5 million total memberships across the world as of the first quarter. That figure marked a less than 1% lift from the prior quarter and a 4.9% jump from the first quarter in the prior year.”

Netflix stock dropped two percent after its announcement. 

[Read More: Facebook Parent Slapped With Huge Fine]

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