Netflix celebrated an increase in subscriber numbers in the last quarter ahead of the launch of a low cost ad-supported version and action on account sharing.
From July through September, Netflix attracted 2.4 million new subscribers worldwide, more than what was expected by industry analysts. Subscriber numbers were aided by the latest series of Stranger Things and Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. It now has 223.1 million subscribers worldwide.
But in its latest quarterly results, the company confirmed that in early 2023, it will begin to crack down on password sharing. This follows a number of pilot schemes in South America.
It means friends and family who share access will be given the choice to set up their own Netflix account. Alternatively, the account owner will be required to pay for extra users.
The account transfer feature lets users keep personalised recommendations, viewing history, lists, and other settings. Initially, users can make the changes on a voluntary basis. But from next year, Netflix is threatening to take additional steps to ensure it can monetise users it identifies as ‘borrowing’ another person’s account.
Netflix told investors that “after listening to consumer feedback, we are going to offer the ability for borrowers to transfer their Netflix profile into their own account, and for sharers to manage their devices more easily and to create sub-accounts (“extra member”), if they want to pay for family or friends.
In countries with our lower-priced ad-supported plan, we expect the profile transfer option for borrowers to be especially popular.”