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Netflix loses 1M users in Spain over password policing

bloomberg.com

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Re: Netflix loses 1M users in Spain over password policing

#21

Post by colechristensen »

teruakohatu wrote: post #12

> The move was linked to a fall in users of more than a million, two thirds of whom were using someone else’s password > Subscription cancellations in the first quarter tripled compared to the previous period, according to Kantar’s research. Of all remaining Netflix subscribers in Spain, one-tenth said they planned to unsubscribe in the second quarter. So they lost 300,000 paying users whom they think will come back,…

Yup, if it weren't for my parents Netflix would spend most of the time suspended because outside of a few things very occasionally, I do not watch it.

The value proposition isn't there for me, I'm just being nice to my mom.

Re: Netflix loses 1M users in Spain over password policing

#22

Post by mkl95 »

This trend may be masking the fact their Spanish originals are overall pretty poor. In my opinion, Money Heist is the only high quality Spanish show they have produced. These days their non Spanish output is not that good either, though. Netflix should study World of Warcraft's player exodus after 2009 or so, as an example of what happens when you offer too much low quality content to the masses.

Re: Netflix loses 1M users in Spain over password policing

#23

Post by pjc50 »

esskay wrote: post #10

Not really that surprising is it? I'm waiting for the day they send me the inevitable notice to pay more, aka the day I cancel Netflix. They could get away with this if their offering was substantially better than the competitors but thse days it's not. Pumping out complete crap like 'The Floor is Lava' and the 9 millionth cake contest isn't what built their massive customer base. These days when a new hyped show com…

Netflix axing incomplete shows has become like Google killing products: people are starting to become aware of it, and that puts them off picking up new products.

It's also self-sabotaging behavior from the point of view of a back catalog. If people know in advance that a show had an unsatisfying ending, they're not going to recommend that people go back and watch it. But then Netflix and everyone else seems to treat shows as disposable these days, as if nothing mattered six months after it came out. Yet people still talk about The Wire (first broadcast 2002)

Re: Netflix loses 1M users in Spain over password policing

#24

Post by gcatalfamo »

From the comments in this thread, many are not understanding that password borrowers are typically contributing to the account owner's monthly subscription, and many account owners, when faced to the full price of the subscription will eventually unsubscribe as well.

5€ month for what Netflix has to offer is one thing, 18€/month, for many, becomes an instant no-deal.

Re: Netflix loses 1M users in Spain over password policing

#25

Post by vivegi »

Boo hoo.

$NFLX brought in customers with the Sharing is Caring campaign. If at that time they patted themselves on the back for customer growth, they should hold themselves responsible for the about face and customer exodus when they have changed their stance to Sharing is a crime.

Re: Netflix loses 1M users in Spain over password policing

#26

Post by juanse »

solids wrote: post #20
teruakohatu wrote: post #12

> The move was linked to a fall in users of more than a million, two thirds of whom were using someone else’s password > Subscription cancellations in the first quarter tripled compared to the previous period, according to Kantar’s research. Of all remaining Netflix subscribers in Spain, one-tenth said they planned to unsubscribe in the second quarter. So they lost 300,000 paying users whom they think will come back,…

Also, spanish content was better years ago, now everything looks copy paste of the same agenda. Not worth it.

Absolutely agree. I also had a family account that kept instead not watching anything anymore. In the end I felt like paying for watching propaganda that I could see for free in national television. This came at the perfect time as an excuse.

Re: Netflix loses 1M users in Spain over password policing

#27

Post by alexdunmow »

The_Colonel wrote: post #15
teruakohatu wrote: post #12

> The move was linked to a fall in users of more than a million, two thirds of whom were using someone else’s password > Subscription cancellations in the first quarter tripled compared to the previous period, according to Kantar’s research. Of all remaining Netflix subscribers in Spain, one-tenth said they planned to unsubscribe in the second quarter. So they lost 300,000 paying users whom they think will come back,…

> I think the issue is that people who are paying for an account they are sharing are likely to keep the account active so their family members can continue watching. When the family are cut off, they cancel. That's the case for me indeed. I myself basically stopped watching Netflix, somehow the content doesn't do anything for me anymore. But I shared my account with family and they watch it. If this gets to us, and…

Interesting you say that the content doesn't appeal to you anymore. I feel the same way. My observation is that, for the most part, most of Netflix's original content is reality TV and comedy specials.

They don't even seem to be bothering to create great content like Stranger Things anymore. We are at the enshittification of Netflix stage.

Re: Netflix loses 1M users in Spain over password policing

#28

Post by dspillett »

hackernewds wrote: post #11
not_your_vase wrote: post #3

Okay, but 6-700k of this million were not paying users, but password-borrowers.

So they lost 300k users and also lost 700k promoters of the service. At the cost of scaled server costs?

With energy prices shooting up, that scanned server cost is more significant now than it used to be, and per-user bandwidth costs don't drop forever due to economies of scale, so there may be more cost efficient promotion methods than 700,000 non-paying users.

There was a study a while back (can't find it ATM, I'll have another look later) that suggested those using other people's accounts were more likely to be heavy users in terms of bandwidth than average, so perhaps this sort of thing has been factored in to the plan.

Having said that, I can't imagine they expected 300k dropping their account now they can no longer share it. Perhaps there are a lot of friend groups clubbing together to share the cost of subscription services like Netflix.

Re: Netflix loses 1M users in Spain over password policing

#29

Post by melvinmelih »

teruakohatu wrote: post #12

> The move was linked to a fall in users of more than a million, two thirds of whom were using someone else’s password > Subscription cancellations in the first quarter tripled compared to the previous period, according to Kantar’s research. Of all remaining Netflix subscribers in Spain, one-tenth said they planned to unsubscribe in the second quarter. So they lost 300,000 paying users whom they think will come back,…

> I think the issue is that people who are paying for an account they are sharing are likely to keep the account active so their family members can continue watching, even if they are also using a competitor. When the family are cut off, they cancel.

Definitely the case for me. I am able to help out 10-20 family members across 4 countries, and all I have to do is pay a measly $17.99/mo. If that goes away, I will be cancelling my subscription.

Re: Netflix loses 1M users in Spain over password policing

#30

Post by vivegi »

not_your_vase wrote: post #3

Okay, but 6-700k of this million were not paying users, but password-borrowers.

That may very well be. But now, their engagement metric on hours viewed [1] is going to drop like a brick and the analysts who started tracking that for the past several quarters will be scratching their head.

[1]: https://top10.netflix.com/

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