After years of tolerating and even encouraging password sharing, Netflix finally seems poised to crack down on the rampant practice among its subscrib

Why a Password-Sharing Crackdown Won’t Help Netflix Much

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2022-05-12 22:00:09

After years of tolerating and even encouraging password sharing, Netflix finally seems poised to crack down on the rampant practice among its subscribers.

The company has accelerated plans to roll out a new pricing strategy aimed at cutting off freeloaders by the end of the year, The New York Times reported Tuesday . Pressure is on the streamer to change course after its subscriptions declined for the first time in a decade last month.

In March, before the Q1 results were announced, the streaming giant had started testing a plan to let subscribers in three countries — Chile, Costa Rica and Peru — add accounts for up to two people outside their household for an added surcharge.

Now Netflix seems to be hoping this strategy will help put it back on the growth track. The company estimates more than 100 million households worldwide are using someone else’s account and cited password sharing as one of the four main reasons for the stall in membership in its April letter to shareholders.

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