Netflix premiered three of its biggest shows ever in 2022 (Stranger Things season four, Wednesday season one, and Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story), but it hasn’t been a great year for the streaming service. The last 12 months were defined by “backlash stemming from cancellations, layoffs, and bad reviews for its biggest shows — not to mention hemorrhaging subscriber numbers,” as well as the whole Dave Chappelle controversy. Netflix also launched an ad-supported tier that hasn’t been a hit among subscribers. Will things get better in 2023? Maybe (You is back in February!)… or maybe not, once the streamer begins cracking down on password sharing.
The long-dreaded elimination of sharing your password with your parents / kids / cheapskate ex-boyfriend who still uses your account, without having to pay an additional fee, will begin in “early” 2023, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Netflix has updated its customer help pages this year to say accounts are only to be shared by people who live together. The company has said it would enforce its rules based on IP addresses, device IDs and account activity. To mitigate consumer backlash, Netflix has discussed dialing up the pressure on password sharing gradually, according to people familiar with the situation. Some executives warned against making the service too complex and not consumer friendly, a practice a few of them referred to internally as Comcastification, a dig at the cable giant.
It’s estimated that “222 million paying households share passwords with an additional 100 million households that Netflix wants to monetize,” Mac Rumors reports. How else will the streamer be able to afford the latest generic action movie starring The Rock?
(Via the Wall Street Journal)