NETFLIX: WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO SHARED ACCOUNTS?
Many factors have decreed Netflix's current dominance over the world of streaming. The ease of use, the richness of the catalog, the disproportionate amount of original films and TV series, the perfect management of the internet connection. Pieces of a puzzle perfectly stuck on top of each other to which one of the factors that has pushed the platform the most: the possibility of using the service simultaneously and on different profiles.
Two side of the same coin that have given rise to the
phenomenon of account sharingbetween several people. With a single
subscription, you can get from a minimum of two simultaneous views to a maximum
of four, making sharing almost unlimited if you can make sure that the uses are
not simultaneous. A practice that has made the company "friend of the
user" but which now seems to be no longer frowned upon by the same top
management.
Fight without quarter
Competition in the streaming world has become very strong
lately. Prime Video is becoming an increasingly consolidated reality, AppleTV +
is starting to emerge and Disney + is preparing to catalyze all the attention
on itself . Three rivals of a certain weight who have already made their blows
felt well aimed on the hitherto unassailable dominion of the king of all
platforms. Netflix feels threatened and, somehow, has a great desire to find
the most suitable countermeasures to stop a bleeding of users and profits that
could arrive in advance.
New subscription plans, new content, but also choices that
will have to somehow maximize what you already have. In this sense, many
aspects of the platform have long been under the observation lens of the top
management, to understand what may be worth keeping and what needs to be
changed, to find a much-needed stability in view of the relentless struggles
that will begin in the next years.
"Infinite" sharing
Account sharing has been one of Netflix's prerogatives from
the beginning, one of those possibilities that have always made a difference on
everything else. The password sharing is a habit from the beginning a
long-established among the subscribers, especially with the premium of
subscription, have ability to effectively divide up its subscription with three
other people. The family plan , in a certain sense, has become something more,
a way to divide, with friends, acquaintances or strangers found on the
internet, the cost of the subscription, having access to the same catalog but
spending a quarter compared to normal.
The estimates in this sense are very clear: over 10%active
users share the cost of their subscription with other subscribers. The practice
has also been "favored" by the top management, who have always
frowned upon all this: on the one hand, it improved the general perception of
the company by users, seen from the beginning as a safe and permissive shore to
land on, on the other hand, it gave Netflix a strong hand in spreading its
brand around the world. A not insignificant transversal gain which, however, is
probably becoming counterproductive today.
Major losses
According to research by Park Associates, in 2019, sharing
accounts cost Netflix a loss of approximately $ 9 billion . A not insignificant
hole destined to increase over the years. In 2024, it could even reach 12.5
billion dollars. The company therefore finds a hot potato in its hands that is
difficult to cool. Leaving everything as it is seems like an unsustainable
solution from an economic point of view, but changing your policy overnight
would create an even greater damage to your image .
How would users react if they were prevented from one day to
the next a practice that has been one of the platform's musts right from the
start? For this reason, various types of palliative actions are being studied
to ensure that, should a decision be taken, it is perceived as soft as
possible. What is certain is that something will be done. The negative aspects
of this practice, in fact, seem to have exceeded the critical threshold,
becoming much more preponderant than the positive ones.
What will happen?
Netflix is perceived by users as a friendly company, close
to users and their problems and needs. A reality free from constraints, easy to
share with friends, modern and with a relatively low cost. A general perception
that made the fortune and success of the platform. Yet the terms of regulation
speak for themselves: the use of the account is indicated as strictly personal
and shareable at most with the members of one's family . The exceptions to the
rule have been tolerated, but now new safety measures could be implemented to
avoid further and harmful degeneration.
The phenomenon could thus be somewhat mitigated, using
solutions that continue to allow sharing but, at the same time, avoid its
spread on a larger scale. Sharing the account with a distant friend, outside
our family circle, seems to be a practice destined to disappear, for the sake
of all those who have always used it.
What solutions?
The possible arrival of new low cost plans could make the
subscription even more accessible, offering everything at a cost equal to that
of splitting a larger subscription. Even limiting the phenomenon in its
infancy, preventing sharing in its entirety, does not seem a viable action,
just as it would be problematic to monitor the position and block accounts
geographically too far from the position of one's home.
Other solutions could be represented by the registration of
a limited number of devicesper account, but here too something would be lost in
the flexibility and freedom that have always distinguished Netflix. Problems
that are not easy to solve in a world of streaming that runs fast and becomes
more and more fierce and aggressive. Netflix cannot afford to stop or even lose
part of its very strong and spotless image.
Something will have to change but it will have to be as soft
and polite as possible or, at least, be counterbalanced with a truly important
offer, something that can overshadow this possible renunciation. With more and
more actors ready to have their say, many things are bound to change and
perhaps we too should start to deal with different habits.
