Canada Joins Netflix in Cracking Down on Password Sharing Raids
Netflix users who share their passwords with friends and family who live hundreds — or even thousands — of miles away won’t be able to do so for much longer as the streaming service has announced its plans to end password sharing.
“Netflix wants to crack down on password sharing so they can monetize all these people who got a free ride,” London, Ontario-based technology analyst Carmi Levy told CTV News Toronto.
Netflix has 230 million paying subscribers worldwide, but it’s estimated that up to 100 million people could watch with shared passwords.
The streaming service told CTV News Toronto that its app “will no longer be accessible on select TV receivers.”
“People who do not live in your household must use their own accounts to watch Netflix,” the Netflix website states.
Netflix announced the crackdown last year after losing subscribers for the first time in a decade.
Some CTV News Toronto viewers who have shared passwords with family and friends say they have already been banned from the service. They said messages popped up on their screen when trying to use their account, saying “Netflix is no longer available on this receiver.”
Levy said the streaming giant needs to do something to generate revenue amid rising costs for film and television production, as well as increasing competition from other streaming services.
“The company is facing more competition than it has in years past, and it’s spending tens of billions of dollars trying to get new movies and TV shows on Netflix, and the company just can’t afford to maintain the status quo .” Levy said.
A new survey by Jefferies found that 62 percent of those who share passwords said they will stop using Netflix because of the new policy. Meanwhile, 25 percent said they couldn’t afford it, and 35 percent said they would use another streaming service.
Levy said other streaming services like Amazon, Disney+, Apple TV, and Crave might also need to look at what Netflix is doing when it comes to cracking down on password sharing.
“If you’ve shared, that’s the first thing they’ll do to break the habit, but there will be more things to come in the coming months,” Levy said.
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