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Netflix loses 1M users in Spain over password policing

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

#601

Post by autoexec »

larrik wrote: post #581
bee_rider wrote: post #554

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder to what extent tossing away non-paying users will hurt their network effect. How many people got HBO because their friends (paying or not) were talking about Game of Thrones? Hopefully for Netflix somebody there has run the numbers WRT one incremental unit of video-delivery-cost is worth more or less than one incremental unit of chatter.

But nobody talks about Netflix shows because there's no shared progress, so you can't even begin to discuss it with your friends until everyone is completely finished with. Then at that point, it's finished, why bother?

If you want to time gate your episodes with your friends you're still welcome to coordinate that with them. Lots of couples do this too ("Don't watch until we can do it together") but personally, no matter how excited I am for a show, if a streaming platform withholds episodes so that they can better manage social media and stretch out advertising I'll just wait until the whole thing is out before I even start watching.

I'm totally done letting media companies dictate my time and letting them make me feel like I'm missing out somehow if I don't jump when they tell me to. I'll watch things on my schedule, when it's convenient for me, and I'll do it at my own pace. If a platform doesn't want to let me do that, I've got plenty of other things competing for my attention that will.

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

#602

Post by squeaky-clean »

pier25 wrote: post #483

Netflix really messed this up. They shouldn't have tried to tackle password sharing. Instead they should have enforced concurrent streams and let people pay for more concurrent streams. Psychologically it's very different and people paying for the premium plan of 4 streams would probably not be affected.

This is already a thing. I pay for the 4-viewer plan for my family of 3, because when we were on the 2-viewer plan we would frequently get denied access to streaming because the other 2 were already watching something.

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

#603

Post by alerighi »

Of course. Around 10 euros that divided by 4 means 2.5 euros a month per user (or 2 divided by 5, it's unlikely that 4 people are watching at the same time) is a fair price, the cost of 2 coffee, you say screw it I pay so I can just take my remote and watch whatever I want. Reason why they made success.

For more than that, for example you have to pay a full subscription of 10 euros, you consider going back to pirating. By the way I'm in favour that Netflix enforces this policy: so people will start pirating again, and we will see coming back forums that share torrents like it was back in the day.

I think that when we realize that this day with gigabit fibre connections that are the norm and that contrary on when Netflix came out that you needed to leave the computer running all night to download a movie we can download a 4K torrent in a matter of minutes all these streaming companies will fail for good.

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

#604

Post by prepend »

ModernMech wrote: post #549
prepend wrote: post #403

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use plex as an interface and it organizes my content in an easy to find and watch manner. It’s the fewest clicks to see new content. Comically I subscribe to many online services (Hulu, Netflix, apple+) and will end up discovering and watching new shows through plex and my rss feeds than the actual apps. So pirating still gives me the best user interface. Especially with combining content from multiple services. Al…

So piracy gives you the best UI. Sure. But why do you believe your need for the best UI is enough to clear the bar for ethics when it comes to violating other people's IP rights? Stealing food from the store is way more convenient than going through the line. Best UI there is for grocery shopping.

Why do you think copyright is ethical?

I certainly wouldn’t steal food from a store as that deprives the store of food. That seems cut and dry.

If I could photograph food and turn it into food to feed myself, I would certainly do that, even if it was illegal. It doesn’t deprive the owner of anything.

There’s lots of injustice in the world. And I think IP leans more towards unjust than just. Do I think creators should be compensated? Yes. Do I think creators’ descendents should be compensated for 90 years? Probably not.

I think copyright is designed and biased toward massive corporations to the detriment of society. So I don’t feel bad when I subscribe to HBONow and also “illegally” download torrents so it’s easier for loved ones to watch.

I also feel like there’s a giant PR effort from wealthy entities against a few individuals and the fact that you’d equate downloading a movie with stealing food is so weird to me that it shows how distorted the discussion is.

So we need some distinction between essential rights that seem real to me (bill of rights stuff) and “rights” that only exist because of successful lobbying on behalf of a very tiny industry (content industry is only like $100-200B globally where agriculture is $1.2T in the US alone).

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

#606

Post by carlosjobim »

melvinmelih wrote: post #29
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 c…

Reading your comment makes me sympathize greatly with Netflix. I don't think they should care about customers who demands a "measly" price to continue their subscriptions.

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

#607

Post by autoexec »

kulahan wrote: post #473
gnicholas wrote: post #416

Losing 1M users is not good, but isn't the real question how many accounts they lost? > The move was linked to a fall in users of more than a million, two thirds of whom were using someone else’s password, according to Kantar’s research, which is based on surveys of household streaming habits. This makes it seem like they lost 333k customers. I don't know how many customers they have in Spain, but that sounds like a…

They would have no way of knowing if your wife or you are using your wife's account, so of course it doesn't include that. Why would you need to clarify that? They don't have spyware turning on your camera for facial recognition lol

Streaming platforms absolutely know who is watching. Sometimes it's because they have profiles you can set up, but that data can also come from people watching shows on their own phones/tablets/laptops, what shows they watch, and the hours that they watch them.

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

#608

Post by decafninja »

alerighi wrote: post #603

Of course. Around 10 euros that divided by 4 means 2.5 euros a month per user (or 2 divided by 5, it's unlikely that 4 people are watching at the same time) is a fair price, the cost of 2 coffee, you say screw it I pay so I can just take my remote and watch whatever I want. Reason why they made success. For more than that, for example you have to pay a full subscription of 10 euros, you consider going back to piratin…

I don't miss the days of torrenting. The thing that still stands out in my mind is having to slog my way through tons of pornographic advertising and popups to find a single actually working torrent link.

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

#609

Post by bragr »

webmobdev wrote: post #595
ho_schi wrote: post #569

Netflix: ”You get two parallel streams with your family. Family means trust and password sharing.“ Customers: “Farewell pirating. We pay a fair flat and it is automatically shared between Netflix and artists. Great!“ Netflix: “We increase the flat permanently. And we have now competitors and doesn’t over anymore all relevant content (e.g. Star Trek Picard, Expanse, Disney). How about ruining it and blocking family me…

According to a TF article in 2012 - https://torrentfreak.com/top-bittorrent-countries-in-the-wor... - Spain was one of the top 10 countries of torrent downloaders. Is there any statistics of torrent users (by country) for 2023? It will be interesting to see if those million outraged spanish Netflix users have now turned to torrenting Netflix shows.

Are torrents even the primary methods of piracy now? That's an actual question: I get the impression that a lot of piracy has switched to grey market file hosting and streaming sites, but I don't have the perspective to say if that's accurate.
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