Netflix: A Crackdown on US Password Sharing Is Nigh

Move to paid sharing has been a success in Canada, company says
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 21, 2023 6:35 AM CDT
Netflix Confirms Crackdown on US Password Sharing
A Netflix DVD envelope is shown on Nov. 17, 2022, in San Francisco.   (AP Photo/Michael Liedtke, File)

American users of Netflix avoided a crackdown on password-sharing longer than users in other countries but change is on the way, the company said this week. Netflix says paid sharing will be rolled out in the US this quarter. Users will be able to add up to two people outside their households. The company said successful trials in Latin America were followed by a successful rollout in countries including Spain, Portugal, and Canada in the first quarter of the year. "In Canada, which we believe is a reliable predictor for the US, our paid membership base is now larger than prior to the launch of paid sharing and revenue growth has accelerated and is now growing faster than in the US," Netflix said in an earinings letter, per the Hollywood Reporter.

Netflix said it expects a "cancel reaction" when the crackdown begins, but users normally reactivate their accounts at some point, Mashable reports. Netflix hasn't disclosed the fee for extra account users yet, but it will probably be around $6 if it sticks with the Canadian pricing. In its earnings reports, the company said it had added 1.75 million subscribers in the first quarter, bringing the global total to more than 232 million, the Economist reports.

Netflix confirmed Tuesday that it is ending its DVD-by-mail business after 25 years. The company said it has sent out more than 5.2 billion DVDs over the years and the last ones will go out on Sept. 29, the New York Times reports. "Those iconic red envelopes changed the way people watched shows and movies at home—and they paved the way for the shift to streaming," co-CEO Ted Sarandos said. "To everyone who ever added a DVD to their queue or waited by the mailbox for a red envelope to arrive: thank you." (More Netflix stories.)

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