Netflix Tests Per-User Pricing

Move seems designed to reduce account sharing
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 2, 2014 8:52 AM CST
Netflix Tests Per-User Pricing
In this Monday, Nov. 22, 2010, file photo, a movie selected from among Netflix's "Watch Instantly" titles begins to download on a home computer screen in New York.   (AP Photo/James H. Collins, File)

Netflix is trying out a new payment scheme that will make users pay for each screen they want to stream to simultaneously. Some new customers are being asked to choose between a one-user, one-screen option for $6.99, a two-screen plan for $7.99, and a four-screen plan for $11.99, Bloomberg reports. The move seems to be an effort to crack down on account sharing and generate more revenue from families.

The risk, of course, is that some users on the current $7.99-per-month standard streaming plan would downgrade to $6.99. "That all comes out of their profit margin," says one analyst. "This is not the next pricing move investors were expecting." But the Verge notes that the $6.99 option is for standard definition viewing only, which could turn off many HD-loving customers. "Not everyone will see this and we may never offer it generally," a spokesperson added, while confirming that some users are also seeing a $9.99 three-screen option. (More Netflix stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X