Now it’s official: Netflix has said enough to the possibility of sharing subscription passwords with other people outside the family unit. A choice made after the conclusion of the conference call of 19 January, during which the participants first of all analyzed the revenue data relating to the last quarter of last year. The change desired by the company was implemented immediately, given that the password will no longer be sharable from the first quarter of 2023.
The press release
According to what was communicated directly to shareholders, access to Netflix services through the same account by users living in different places“compromises our long-term ability to invest and improve service”. It matters little if, as presumably will happen, this limitation will have repercussions on the future decisions of a portion of current subscribers. To remedy the elimination of the possibility of sharing, the company would already be evaluating a series of additional features to implement on the platform: innovations on which engineers have been working for some time with the aim of making their proposal more attractive.
The controls
However, these updates also provide for the creation of new technologies that can facilitate the identification of those Netflix accounts whose access keys are shared by people who are not related to the household. An intense activity monitoring which will be carried out by studying the accesses to the platform by the subscribers, cross-referencing the data of the IP addresses, the IDs of the various devices used and the overall activity of the finished account under the lens.
“As we roll out paid sharing, subscribers in many countries will also have the option to pay extra if they want to share Netflix with people they don’t live with”, explains the letter sent to the shareholders. It has not yet been disclosed from which countries these changes will start: the most recent attempt was made in South America, where the cost of the service began to be increased by 3 dollars for each additional user than the season ticket holder.
Change at the top
In the meeting of last January 19, changes were also decided at the top. Reed Hastings, co-founder and co-CEO of Netflix has announced his resignation. In place of him, alongside Ted Sarandos will be the former chief operating officer Greg Peters, replaced in his old role by Bela Bajaria.
Hastings is reportedly expected to take over as executive chairman. “Ted and Greg are now co-CEOs”announces on Twitter l’ex ad. “After 15 years together, we have a great connection and I am very confident in their leadership. Double the heart, double the ability to delight users and accelerate growth. I am proud to serve as Executive Chairman for many years to come.”conclude Hastings.
