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Update on Sharing

about.netflix.com

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Re: Update on Sharing

#191

Post by crazygringo »

fnordpiglet wrote: post #178
crazygringo wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Their stock went from $690 in Oct 2021 to $175 in June 2022. That's a 75% plummet, which is definitely approaching the equivalent of struggling-to-keep-the-lights-on for a modern corporation. That's three quarters of the way to bankruptcy, big red flashing danger lights. So of course this is a calculated bet to improve profitability. Virtually everything a for-profit corporation does is to improve profitability -- th…

Companies share price matters to shareholders and implies an ability to raise additional capital. It doesn’t have anything to do with solvency unless they borrowed money to buy back shares (which some companies did do when interest rates were low and share prices were depressed). Employees on stock incentive plans probably are eating the burden more than anyone.

> It doesn’t have anything to do with solvency

Of course it does. If a stock goes to $0, the company is essentially insolvent. Sure there are details of timing -- insolvency isn't exactly the same as bankruptcy isn't exactly the same as a stock price of $0 -- but in practice they all tend to go together and the company as a going concern owned by present investors is effed.

Re: Update on Sharing

#192

Post by esafak »

hahajk wrote: post #167
joshe wrote: post #161

One tip I use is to not waste money is never be subscribed to any streaming platform. So sign up for 1 month, cancel immediately and then watch what you wish for the month. Netflix used to be a pretty good deal because they had a depth of great old content from the major studios. But now it's scattered all over the other services, and we've all seen most of their decent original content. Doing it this way I'm subscri…

I think this strategy will only work a little longer. The crackdown on sharing is only start. As the pressure increases on streaming services to turn more profits I'd expect longer contract lengths. I wouldn't be surprised to see Adobe-style "reduced price monthly payment" contracts from the more corporate services.

Adobe gets squat from me -- a potential customer -- so such dark patterns can only explode in their face. Adobe and Netflix are not the only game in town.

Re: Update on Sharing

#193

Post by paxys »

librish wrote: post #171

I feel like the moral outrage over this is a little overblown. Reading the terms it seems clear that Netflix is targeting people who are blatantly account sharing. It makes sense to worry that this will inconvenience people who have non-typical lifestyles though. Similarly, saying this is a bad business move seems without any evidence seems rash. I don't think anyone at Netflix particularly _wants_ to implement this…

I don't think there's any possible check for "blatantly account sharing". Whether there is a single account being passed around among a dozen friends, a parent sharing an account with their kid in college, a husband and wife using an account on their different business trips or whatever else, it's all the same to Netflix.

Re: Update on Sharing

#194

Post by bombcar »

mdasen wrote: post #157
autoexec wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> To keep growing in many areas, Netflix needs to break up account sharing. That trick only works once and then they're right back to where they were with zero growth because everyone already has a netflix account or they've been so pissed off at netflix changing the rules of their service and with price hikes, and the decline in content, that they've already canceled and moved on to the many many competitors with bi…

> That trick only works once and then they're right back to where they were with zero growth Yep, it just kicks the can down the road, but it might kick it ten years down the road. One of Netflix's big problems is that they're really just HBO, but with more subscribers. As we're both talking about, they have some limits on their growth. At the same time, people have generally thought of them like a tech company. > Ne…

You can sidestep the "growth trap" if you can become a utility.

Disney+ could do that, they have a huge backlog of children's content and people will pay for "the digital babysitter". All they need to do is buy cocomelon and pinkfong and they'd rule the upcoming generation.

But if your content sucks, then a competitor can eat your lunch by having good content.

Re: Update on Sharing

#195

Post by bombcar »

mdasen wrote: post #109
galleywest200 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can I have my other households VPN to my local network to bypass this?

Possibly, but it seems like this this would be pretty easy to detect. First, they should already know who has been sharing accounts. You haven't been having other households VPN to your local network for the past 5 years for Netflix. That gives them a great starting point. They can look at SSIDs and not just your SSID, but all the SSIDs that your device is seeing. Even within a household, not all the SSIDs will be th…

I'm surprised that Apple allows apps on its devices to spy on SSIDs. Kinda not very privacy.

Maybe we all should change our SSIDs to "FBI Surveillance Van#1".

Re: Update on Sharing

#196

Post by crazygringo »

remus wrote: post #166
crazygringo wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. It was specifically due to not meeting expected subscriber numbers, prompting a widespread negative reevaluation of Netflix's entire business model. The decrease was way beyond anything affecting the stock market or tech stocks generally. A simple glance at the numbers, and the dramatic plummets directly after earnings reports, makes that clear.

> It was specifically due to not meeting expected subscriber numbers, prompting a widespread negative reevaluation of Netflix's entire business model. I'd speculate that those expected subscriber numbers may have been inflated by the covid pandemic.

Well, their stock price fell to levels not seen since ~Aug 2017, and obviously COVID-19 didn't happen until, well, 2019.

So while Covid might have been part of it, it's nowhere near the full story.

Re: Update on Sharing

#197

Post by pimlottc »

nocoiner wrote: post #21

I really dislike how every corporate communication regarding an “update” now means “here’s how we’re making things worse for you.” I know honesty has never really been the fundamental value of public relations initiatives, but it would be refreshing to occasionally see a company saying that they’re putting the squeeze on customers because they need to protect their margins or even just because they can. The formerly-…

It’s also comically broad, as if they’re talking about the concept of sharing in general.

“An update on sharing: it’s bad now”

Re: Update on Sharing

#198

Post by cma »

crazygringo wrote: post #120
nvr219 wrote: post #4

Here's an update: I'm canceling my account. The amount of entertainment I and the three people I share with get out of Netflix isn't worth the 4x cost increase. Maybe the other guys will get accounts, I don't know. I'm sure for some people it's worth it.

If just one of the other three gets an account (which seems statistically likely), it's the same for Netflix. If two of them get an account, or you change your mind later, it's a huge win for Netflix. Netflix has done the math and already tested this policy in several countries. They would never be rolling this out in their home market of the US if they weren't extremely confident that new subscriptions will outweigh…

> If just one of the other three gets an account (which seems statistically likely), it's the same for Netflix.

Not 100%; with less viewers there will be less word of mouth about Netflix shows. Maybe that will be offset by paying less to license third party stuff with less viewers though.

Re: Update on Sharing

#199

Post by dudeinjapan »

fnordpiglet wrote: post #178
crazygringo wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Their stock went from $690 in Oct 2021 to $175 in June 2022. That's a 75% plummet, which is definitely approaching the equivalent of struggling-to-keep-the-lights-on for a modern corporation. That's three quarters of the way to bankruptcy, big red flashing danger lights. So of course this is a calculated bet to improve profitability. Virtually everything a for-profit corporation does is to improve profitability -- th…

Companies share price matters to shareholders and implies an ability to raise additional capital. It doesn’t have anything to do with solvency unless they borrowed money to buy back shares (which some companies did do when interest rates were low and share prices were depressed). Employees on stock incentive plans probably are eating the burden more than anyone.

I worked for Lehman Brothers. When our shareprice went to pennies, it had a lot do with solvency at that point.

Re: Update on Sharing

#200

Post by smeej »

I have tried to sign up for my own Netflix account repeatedly over the last three years. For some reason, they don't like my phone number. It's just a regular phone number, on an American SIM card, when I'm solidly (and always) in America. It's the only one I have.

But they don't like it, so I can't use Netflix at all unless I sign into someone else's account (with that person's consent), usually my mom, who lives in the next town over but is not in my household, or my brother who lives farther away.

I'm only willing to make so many attempts to convince a company to let me give them money before I decide their service isn't worth the hassle.

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