Netflix rolls out new sharing rules for US customers

[Lord Bloobus]

Summary

I just received the official notice from Netflix that they will be implementing the main household rules and charging an additional $8 a month for outside users.

 

Quotes

Quote

Well, the time has come, and the new anti-password sharing system has reached the US at last. No more testing, it’s time to nuke those extra accounts. - Forbes 

 

My thoughts

I've been following their roll out and was waiting to see if they had the guts to do it to the US, well they finally did it. I've been slowly rolling my owned media into a Plex in preparation and told my shared screens that I'm getting rid of it because it's not worth it anymore (Mom text included). I personally think it's a huge L since I pay for screens, not local sessions. Anyways I'll be hosting my media to any of my family affected by this soon.

 

Sources

 https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2023/05/24/netflixs-password-sharing-crackdown-is-now-live-in-the-us-heres-what-it-costs/

 

[flibberdipper]

God this is lame. Right now my friend and I are splitting Netflix and currently live in separate locations, though we plan on having me move in with them around the end of the year.

 

I swear to all that is unholy, Netflix better not ding us with this shit. Thankfully we watch it mainly at their apartment so if anything I'll just have to hotspot my phone and connect my Apple TV to that when I want to watch it at my current place. Janky, but it'll work probably.

[Lord Bloobus]

6 minutes ago, flibberdipper said:

God this is lame. Right now my friend and I are splitting Netflix and currently live in separate locations, though we plan on having me move in with them around the end of the year.

 

I swear to all that is unholy, Netflix better not ding us with this shit. Thankfully we watch it mainly at their apartment so if anything I'll just have to hotspot my phone and connect my Apple TV to that when I want to watch it at my current place. Janky, but it'll work probably.

I was ready to pull the trigger immediately lol. Unfortunately many people will not have the options to replace it like I do, and I think the hoops to authenticate outside users to continue using Netflix without paying extra is a no-go for basically everyone. Netflix compression was hot nasty garbage anyways, the 1080p I paid for was always bottom tier.

 

Anyways now it pushes me to really rev up my Plex box, I just finished getting parity and backups. Might be looking at building an unRAID to upgrade the experience and build out more capability.

[Vishera]

Human smells money - Human goes crazy to get money.

[flibberdipper]

On 5/27/2023 at 8:08 AM, Lord Bloobus said:

I was ready to pull the trigger immediately lol. Unfortunately many people will not have the options to replace it like I do, and I think the hoops to authenticate outside users to continue using Netflix without paying extra is a no-go for basically everyone. Netflix compression was hot nasty garbage anyways, the 1080p I paid for was always bottom tier.

 

Anyways now it pushes me to really rev up my Plex box, I just finished getting parity and backups. Might be looking at building an unRAID to upgrade the experience and build out more capability.

I was ready to ditch Netflix entirely, however I am a broke bitch, so I'm not about to dump even more money into my server for storage since I'm getting close to full as is, and they're not about to give up Netflix. Hell I'm having to consider totally legally obtaining™ some shit from Hulu that they want because I sure as hell am not about to subscribe to yet another thing.

[Lord Bloobus]

Just finished cancelling, their app was being slow lol. End of an era.

[Thaldor]

Going to be interesting do they dare to pull that in Finland. Not that it would be illegal or something but Netflix just sucks here, not only is it the most expensive compared to the "quality" (HBO Max and Disney+(including Hulu) include 4K streaming in the base price, Netflix and you need the most expensive subscription which is almost double the others), we still have objectively the smallest palette of content and their investment into Finland has been pretty much 0 (the couple shows, like Bordertown, they have "exclusive" rights are/have been streamable for Finns by YLE (Finnish Broadcast Company) for free).

 

As in for comparison what I pay or would pay:
HBO Max 4.49€/month ("lifetime 50% discount",so as long as I keep the subscription or they change their rules)
Disney+ (including Hulu Originals since we don't have Hulu) 89.90€/year

Netflix 16.99€/month (4K HDR because all others include it)

Amazon Prime Video 5.99€/month

Ruutu+ (Finnish streaming service) 10.99€/month without ads (with ads 6.99€/month)
YLE Areena (Finnish Broadcast Company) Free

 

Like nothing even really compares to the price of Netflix, except Ruutu+ since they don't support 4K so even with Netflix we can compare to the Netflix Standard at 11.99€/month. Pretty much all of the others don't care about sharing the account, at least in small scale, and while that shouldn't be counted in this comparison, well, Netflix ain't doing well eitherway.

[TetraSky]

Netflix saw their numbers drop everywhere they implemented this... and they are STILL pushing for it. It means the ones who do remain and pay up more, make up the difference or close to it.

 

Honestly I gave up on netflix long ago. Too expensive for my wants. I only want to watch maybe 1 series per year, if that.

[Dabombinable]

The only reason I have Netflix, is that I'm sharing the cost with my sister. And we both agree - push comes to shove, we don't need Netflix same as Disney+.

[SorryBella]

6 hours ago, Lord Bloobus said:

Just finished cancelling, their app was being slow lol. End of an era.

Yeah, back to the seven seas for many. Issue of service rearing its ugly head again.

[Needfuldoer]

10 hours ago, TetraSky said:

Netflix saw their numbers drop everywhere they implemented this... and they are STILL pushing for it. It means the ones who do remain and pay up more, make up the difference or close to it.

[Taf the Ghost]

One thought on the changes Netflix has been doing: they probably found that this actually increased their Profitability per Paying Account. This is likely because their heaviest bandwidth users are people engaged with their content across multiple locations. As you can see in even this thread, they're shared accounts, normally, across users actively engaged with their content. Yes, you're going to shed those users, but that still leaves the low activity users still paying and those that use it as part of their general family content will just pay.  As a result, the bandwidth per account, by revenue, goes down. 

 

At some level, it's the reverse of the Pareto 80/20 rule. The more of the 20% of super active users they shed, the better their bottom line. Don't get me wrong, it's insulting on a lot of levels and cancelling is probably the play for a lot of people. But I can see exactly why it happens.

 

A couple of years ago, in the let's call it eSports boom period where I had a lot of Twitch streams running, I got a letter from my ISP asking me to please upgrade my connection because I was using a lot of bandwidth. Which I found a little strange. Granted, I didn't actually need any more speed (I forgot what the speed was at the time, but I could handle 2x 1080p streams without issues; no reason to actually upgrade).  But the letter had an interesting tidbit about only 2% of users used I think over a relatively small amount of bandwidth per month. I think it was 100 Gb, but maybe it was 200 Gb. This was around 2016, I think.  Now, that was, generally, as much bandwidth as I used in the first week of a month, but games were already running 50-75 Gb by that point from Steam (with some rapidly pushing 150 Gb as well). What was also interesting was they were already advertising 4K streaming, at the time. While funny on a couple of levels, it also points to an unfortunate reality with a lot of Infrastructure-type companies: they're really only viable with a large supply of paying but low utilization customers.  At some level, the zombie accounts are subsidizing the heavy users. Which is likely why Netflix is doing what they are doing now. 

 

Netflix's huge rise into the Production side of the media industry came at the same time that Debt was super cheap. Those heavy, shared accounts were Loss Leaders to them. A form of dependence building and customer acquisition. The company has moved out of that phase because Debt is far more expensive now and they aren't in the business of paying that much for new users. Don't get me wrong; they're assholes for the changes. But it doesn't mean its stupid from an economic perspective.

 

There's a wonky part about the rapidity of Internet Technology where you can start do say "X was better back in my day" starting from the time anyone turns about 22 from now and going forward. The user friendliness has been going backwards for a long time.

[Fasterthannothing]

12 hours ago, SorryClaire said:

Yeah, back to the seven seas for many. Issue of service rearing its ugly head again.

I'm gonna need some bigger hard drives time to double up my drives and pass 200TB for my awesome Linux ISOs all these fractured streaming services are beyond dumb 

[Donut417]

These media companies are so out of touch and dont fucking get it. They had a formula that worked, Netflix was reducing piracy across America. It was affordable and offered a lot of content and you could share it so it was always worth a purchase. Instead these media companies went out of their way to screw over the paying customer. Either by making extra streaming services, or using stupid DRM schemes. 

 

I mean look at ATSC 3.0. It has been reported that in several markets they have started implementing DRM. So boxes like the HD Homerun cant access the channels with DRM currently. Well thats how me and my family get our OTA TV thru Plex. While they claim they are working on solutions, they are going to find a way to screw us over. 

[Arika]

45 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

These media companies are so out of touch and dont fucking get it. They had a formula that worked, Netflix was reducing piracy across America. It was affordable and offered a lot of content and you could share it so it was always worth a purchase. Instead these media companies went out of their way to screw over the paying customer. Either by making extra streaming services, or using stupid DRM schemes. 

Netflix could have been the golden child by saying "look, we know a lot of content has disappeared from our services and you may not feel like you're getting your money's worth, but at least we let you still share your password.

 

(this tweet is still public on their account)

 

it was one of the biggest draws to the service, because at some point, they did allow it and even encouraged it.

[leadeater]

44 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

These media companies are so out of touch and dont fucking get it

World wide collective agreement that everyone shares 1 account?

 

[Donut417]

Just now, leadeater said:

World wide collective agreement that everyone shares 1 account?

Its a way. 

 

To me I should be able to use my Netflix anywhere I go. And I should be able to share it with my family. My sister used to use my Netflix account in cases where they needed more streams. Because 2 adults and 3 kids exceeds the number of streams Netflix sells. I normally carry a few streaming services so it was a good chance that both the streams I paid for were not being used. Also my niece and nephew live both at my sisters and their dad's (my sister and him are divorced) she paid for the Netflix and they used to be able to watch it when at their dads, Im not sure if he pays for Netflix or not. 

 

Further more, these streaming services keep raising prices. This is the bullshit that lead to people cutting the cord and now cable companies are moving to drop TV service or continue to hemorrhage customers. A VPN service doesnt cost that much money and many of them dont care if you torrent. There greedy fuckers keep forgetting that there's ways to get their content for free and in some cases at better quality. AND these "free" copies dont have their DRM and other crap included which means a better viewing experience. 

[Stahlmann]

My subscription was running for almost 8 years at this point. A few days ago i also got a notice that every outside user is an additional 4,99 € per month. (Germany) While it's still a lot less than the full 17,99 € each month for a 4K subscription, the shared amount for 4 people was just raised from 17,99 € to 32,96 € in this case. Seeing how little use most of us get out of Netflix nowadays, the decision to cancel the subscription was easy.

 

Instead of getting 17,99 € or 32,96 € each month from these 4 users, they get nothing now.

 

Prime Video is the only service i will continue to use, and only because it's included in Prime either way.

[Deadpool2onBlu-Ray]

On 5/26/2023 at 4:42 PM, Lord Bloobus said:

Summary

I just received the official notice from Netflix that they will be implementing the main household rules and charging an additional $8 a month for outside users.

 

Quotes

 

My thoughts

I've been following their roll out and was waiting to see if they had the guts to do it to the US, well they finally did it. I've been slowly rolling my owned media into a Plex in preparation and told my shared screens that I'm getting rid of it because it's not worth it anymore (Mom text included). I personally think it's a huge L since I pay for screens, not local sessions. Anyways I'll be hosting my media to any of my family affected by this soon.

 

Sources

 https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2023/05/24/netflixs-password-sharing-crackdown-is-now-live-in-the-us-heres-what-it-costs/

 

 

Netflix are a bunch of clowns. They officially took the stance that it was okay years ago. Their CEO at one point even said that was one of the big draws to the service....

 

"Reverse, Reverse"

[jagdtigger]

On 5/28/2023 at 11:48 AM, Donut417 said:

or using stupid DRM schemes

Even netflix is guilty of that with their asinine requirements...... (Like back in the w7 days it forced me to use IE otherwise i wouldnt get FHD, now they want to dictate even the HW with 4k..... (Meanwhile the old PC i had with a 4670k just shrugged off 4k bluerays like its nothing.)

Edited June 1, 2023 by jagdtigger

[TetraSky]

https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/netflix-password-crackdown-boosts-us-signups-antenna-data-1235638587/

 

Turns out, Americans don't care as much about password sharing as the other countries where Netflix deployed this anti consumer garbage.

[Donut417]

1 hour ago, TetraSky said:

https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/netflix-password-crackdown-boosts-us-signups-antenna-data-1235638587/

 

Turns out, Americans don't care as much about password sharing as the other countries where Netflix deployed this anti consumer garbage.

Its not that we dont care. We are used to getting the shaft. So most just keep extra lube handy incase they have to bend over.

[starsmine]

1 hour ago, TetraSky said:

https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/netflix-password-crackdown-boosts-us-signups-antenna-data-1235638587/

 

Turns out, Americans don't care as much about password sharing as the other countries where Netflix deployed this anti consumer garbage.

 I know my mom called suggesting instead of one account + 799 to just do two basic accounts. (she only has an HD tv, not a FHD, its a top end plasma from back in the day so its still a solid tv)

... My sister and I both use 4k tvs in our places.

I just said since I know yall wont let me cancel it, im just not going to log in from my IP. but if people think like her thats where the spike is at

[Taf the Ghost]

2 hours ago, TetraSky said:

https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/netflix-password-crackdown-boosts-us-signups-antenna-data-1235638587/

 

Turns out, Americans don't care as much about password sharing as the other countries where Netflix deployed this anti consumer garbage.

They're saying there was 73k signups, 100% increase from normal in the period. So out of ~160 million US Households, there was a change of 35k per day, out of the norm.  That headline is pure fluff.  Though I'm sure some decided to make a second account or tell a family member to get their own account if they wanted to keep watching.

 

It's a news story about Noise and forced realignment of account structures.

[darknessblade]

On 6/10/2023 at 1:11 AM, Taf the Ghost said:

They're saying there was 73k signups, 100% increase from normal in the period. So out of ~160 million US Households, there was a change of 35k per day, out of the norm.  That headline is pure fluff.  Though I'm sure some decided to make a second account or tell a family member to get their own account if they wanted to keep watching.

 

It's a news story about Noise and forced realignment of account structures.

I guess they count users who pay extra as new users.

 

In the statistics you can see just as hard of a crash as it increases