Netflix is stepping up its efforts against the practice of sharing accounts among multiple people who don’t live together: the main initiative will consist of possibility to add up to two “sub accounts” for a fee, even if at a much lower amount than a full subscription. Testing will begin soon but only in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru. The possibility will be granted only to Standard and Premium level subscriptions; each extra member will cost 2,380 Chilean pesos, US $ 2.99 and New Peruvian sols 7.9. By context, Netflix prices in Costa Rica range from US $ 8.99 to US $ 15.99.
We’ve always made it easy for people living together to share a Netflix account, with features like separate profiles and multiple views at the same time in our Standard and Premium plans. While they’ve been hugely popular, they’ve also created some confusion as to how and when Netflix can be shared.
What, very diplomatically, is called “confusion” “negatively affects our ability to invest in new series and films for our subscribers,” continues the blog post signed by Chengyi Long, head of product innovation. Netflix will also test a second, related feature: the ability to transfer your profile to a new account, both completely separate and a secondary one. This way you won’t lose your viewing history, to-see list and personalized tips.
Of course, it is not certain that the new approach will be extended to the whole world. The test serves precisely to evaluate its effectiveness. But it now seems pretty clear that, in one way or another, the free ride is about to end – or at least to downsize. And it is not surprising: the competition is increasingly vast and fierce, and consequently Netflix’s growth has slowed significantly. The change of pace had been in the air for some time, but the collapse of the stock on the stock market after the latest fiscal results was the most concrete sign.
