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Netflix hints at password sharing crackdown as subscribers fall

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Netflix hints at password sharing crackdown as subscribers fall

#41

Post by OJFord »

t_sawyer wrote: post #16

Um… I pay for screens. As long as my account is within that screen limit it shouldn’t matter who is using it.

Exactly!

This has been talked about for a while now, and I've never seen an explanation of what 'the rules' actually are - it's implied that it's supposed to be per 'household' (but obviously travelling is allowed) but then it says some of this is 'legitimate' being between 'family members'; so two related households are fine?

Honestly, it should just be that it's limited to people you're comfortable sharing the password with (total control of the account!) and the number of screens on your plan, as it is. I used to share with family and upgraded the plan when we used it more and found two concurrent streams wasn't enough.

Re: Netflix hints at password sharing crackdown as subscribers fall

#42

Post by googamooga »

uxcolumbo wrote: post #6

For me, Netflix needs higher quality content. More creative risky shows like the OA, Altered Carbon, Love, Death & Robots, Black Mirror and more old HBO style content… quality vs factory cookie cutter produced stuff trying to satisfy the lowest common denominator, because then you will satisfy no one. Maybe they have good shows I just don't know about. Their recommendation system seems to be crap. I browse for 20 min…

The OA was excellent series and it's a shame that they cancelled it after the second season. Indeed, Netflix could really benefit from releasing smarter shows.

Re: Netflix hints at password sharing crackdown as subscribers fall

#43

Post by Cthulhu_ »

uxcolumbo wrote: post #6

For me, Netflix needs higher quality content. More creative risky shows like the OA, Altered Carbon, Love, Death & Robots, Black Mirror and more old HBO style content… quality vs factory cookie cutter produced stuff trying to satisfy the lowest common denominator, because then you will satisfy no one. Maybe they have good shows I just don't know about. Their recommendation system seems to be crap. I browse for 20 min…

It used to be that if you wanted to watch a movie, you opened up Netflix. Nowadays you can't find what you want to watch on there, so people go to the places that do; Amazon Prime allows you to watch pretty much any movie (although often at a rental fee, which is a different discussion altogether), and the Disney empire has bought up tons of movie publishers and is putting all of them onto their streaming platforms.

Netflix pivoted to producing their own content years ago, seeing the contracts they had for other parties' films not get extended because they were building their own platforms. It's been hit and miss, mostly miss, but I'm assuming there's something for everyone, enough to keep people subscribed. But it's all very formulaic; they make something for every genre (from Attenborough nature documentaries to Scandi crime drama, via stupid game shows to Indian musicals) and see what sticks.

The number of things I still watch on Netflix can be counted on one hand. We rarely sit down to have a browse too, so I wouldn't know their current not-netflix film offerings either.

Re: Netflix hints at password sharing crackdown as subscribers fall

#44

Post by zinekeller »

BaculumMeumEst wrote: post #33
parkingrift wrote: post #23

Streaming companies just can’t help themselves. There’s Disney+, Netflix, HBO Max, Paramount+, Hulu, ESPN+, Apple TV+, Prime Video, and I think Peacock (for now?). The industry self-own is hilarious. It’s easier to just pirate or rent than deal with this many random services. And Netflix just keeps dumping out algorithmically generated focus grouped content. There is plenty of good content on Netflix but not enough t…

I'm not sure I understand how you think this is an "industry self-own", or why you find it hilarious. Presumably, these companies are taking this approach because they realized they stand to make more money by creating their own streaming service and leveraging their catalogs than outsourcing them. Those that stay in business are presumably making quite a lot of money. The only people getting "owned" here are consume…

As you pointed out, consumers will feel the brunt at first, but when there's another economic event that tighten everyone's wallet, then some of those consumers, little-by-little, will return to piracy permanently, unless there's a single service to go to (basically music streaming now).

Re: Netflix hints at password sharing crackdown as subscribers fall

#45

Post by onlyrealcuzzo »

parkingrift wrote: post #23

Streaming companies just can’t help themselves. There’s Disney+, Netflix, HBO Max, Paramount+, Hulu, ESPN+, Apple TV+, Prime Video, and I think Peacock (for now?). The industry self-own is hilarious. It’s easier to just pirate or rent than deal with this many random services. And Netflix just keeps dumping out algorithmically generated focus grouped content. There is plenty of good content on Netflix but not enough t…

I imagine pirating is going to see a massive resurgence in the next 3 years.

The software around pirating has gotten so good, it's nearly as good as apps like Netflix & HBO Max now.

Re: Netflix hints at password sharing crackdown as subscribers fall

#46

Post by Cthulhu_ »

foepys wrote: post #28
hhmc wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not clear your logic actually follows, presumably some fraction of those 100M would pay if sharing passwords wasn't an option.

But how many people will stop paying because they only keep it for their parents, partners, or friends? This could easily result in less subscribers. If Netflix were so sure about the benefits of blocking password sharing, they could've done this years ago. Arguably many people subscribe to the comparatively very expensive UHD plan because they can share passwords with up to 3 people.

It could, but I think at this point they'd rather have 10 million more subscribers than 100 million account sharing customers.

Re: Netflix hints at password sharing crackdown as subscribers fall

#47

Post by Freak_NL »

BaculumMeumEst wrote: post #33
parkingrift wrote: post #23

Streaming companies just can’t help themselves. There’s Disney+, Netflix, HBO Max, Paramount+, Hulu, ESPN+, Apple TV+, Prime Video, and I think Peacock (for now?). The industry self-own is hilarious. It’s easier to just pirate or rent than deal with this many random services. And Netflix just keeps dumping out algorithmically generated focus grouped content. There is plenty of good content on Netflix but not enough t…

I'm not sure I understand how you think this is an "industry self-own", or why you find it hilarious. Presumably, these companies are taking this approach because they realized they stand to make more money by creating their own streaming service and leveraging their catalogs than outsourcing them. Those that stay in business are presumably making quite a lot of money. The only people getting "owned" here are consume…

It's clever too. There are some more tech-minded and risk-aware folk who can turn to copyright infringement via torrents, but those are a negligible minority. The days of widespread 'piracy' practices by every next household are long gone. There are some who can manage cleverly hopping from subscription to subscription to get varying content (three months Netflix, then three months Disney+, etc.), but those too are too few for the streaming companies to care about.

For now the bulk of their customers will pick one or more services, and subscribe for longer periods (years often). And unlike cable, people don't pay a huge lump sum each month, but an increasing number of small-ish fees each small enough not to be too critically evaluated by subscribers when reviewing their home finances. It will probably stay like this for quite a while.

A shame. I really would have liked a way to fairly pay for any content at all via a single subscription.

Re: Netflix hints at password sharing crackdown as subscribers fall

#48

Post by dirtyid »

Too many cancelled shows. How many netflix shows makes it past 3 seasons or lucky enough to conclude definitively in recent years? Maybe try adopting 16 episode mini-series format like Korean TV. Incidentally the one segment my friends hold onto Netflix for.

Re: Netflix hints at password sharing crackdown as subscribers fall

#49

Post by Beltiras »

The moment this touches my subscriber experience I am resigning. I currently buy the 2 screen subscription and live in 2 places in the world. The convenience of not having to manage my media is what makes Netflix worth it. As soon as it won't, it isn't.

Re: Netflix hints at password sharing crackdown as subscribers fall

#50

Post by Cthulhu_ »

JaggerJo wrote: post #39

I share a Netflix account with 3 other people. We’re on the biggest plan. Would not even consider subscribing if I had to pay it alone. Sharing keeps me subscribed. Often I don’t watch something on Netflix for weeks - but cause I only pay 1/4 I don’t mind.

Same; we're only holding out for some upcoming seasons of shows we follow (I think Stranger Things is a subscription seller for them, for example), the rest... I only hold onto the account because my parents have it on their TV and ipads and make frequent use of it, and a friend makes occasional use of it as well.

Meanwhile, we use someone else's Amazon Prime and Disney+ account. I think Amazon already cracked down on things a bit because most content just says it's not available in my region (while still offering it for rent). Disney+ isn't being difficult yet because they know they have a good chance of becoming the biggest streaming platform.

Given how Netflix' stock price took a hit, I wouldn't be surprised if they get bought up by Disney in a few years.

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