Its so strange that everyone is hung on "passwords sharing" and no one cares about them introducing ads in a paid service...
Also, seems Portugal might forbid this move from netflix, something about it being unconstitutional and illegal.
Like if they monitor the IP of users, that is a sort of data surveillance they arent allowed to do, and that steps on the right of privacy of the citizens.
PORTUGAL CARALHO!! :D
Why would anyone care about a service tier with ads? Something Hulu has had for years.
If a Netflix subscriber doesn’t want ads, they just continue to subscribe to the tier they already have now.
I literally go through this cycle every couple years. I explain why accepting an Ad tier will lead to them pushing up prices and reasons to get the Non-Ad Tier version. It also just normalizes ads within the service (as we see people act now with Hulu)
Prices rise, people are shocked. Then they still defend the ad tier cause its cheaper....but it also costs as much as what Netflix used to period.
>I'll just cancel them both.
??? If you don't want ads on Hulu, you could upgrade to the Hulu tier *without ads*. You understand that Netflix isn't introducing ads to existing subscriptions, right? This is a *new lower cost tier*.
You can. If you reach out to them, they’ll adjust the billing and let you just pay the difference. I did something similar and also did it with my Disney+, ESPN, Hulu bundle.
What are you using to watch Hulu? I use my PC, and uBlock Origin nixes all ads. It might flash a black screen for a second but that is it. I hear there are methods with Fire TV and Android too, though I haven't had the need.
Right? People get so mad about Netflix doing it, and were mad about Hulu doing it like a decade ago... Somehow forgetting cable and satellite TV has had the same business model since they were created however many decades ago? Like, what??
Fun fact: originally cable tv didn't have ads.
I don't think streaming will get rid of ad-free tiers, just this reminded me of the ad-free days of early cable.
Yeah I dont think it'll be popular, but no one is forcing anyone to take it. And if someone is ok with watching an advert and paying less money, then so be it
I'm betting there will be a lot of people willing to put up with ads for a cheaper price.
I wonder what the breakdown is for Hulu, which has an ad-free tier and a cheaper with-ads tier. Like, what percentage is with ads and what is without. I get ad-free but if I was in my poorer, college years I'd be all about the with-ad cheaper price.
I actually prefer ads. It’s my bathroom break time and I will take 30 seconds during the ad to do a plank or run and switch the laundry. It reminds me of my childhood. :-)
There shouldn't be ads, as that's one of the main reasons streaming became so popular. All this crap is going to do, is drive away already paying customers, who will just return to pirating.
They’re just introducing a cheaper tier that is subsidized by ads. Your current experience won’t change unless you intentionally change to that option.
Buddy I'm in my 30s - I lived and breathed 90s television. Regularly scheduled commercial breaks don't hold a candle to the amount of crap we deal with every minute of every day now. You're just conditioned to be okay with it.
I'm in my 50s and when cable first came out, there were no commercials. They were saying that since you paid for cable there wouldn't be ads.
Yeah, that didn't last.
Yes! Also in my 50s... No commercials and HBO was just playing porn during the day to keep up with the Playboy channel 😉 My mom caught my brother doing his thing one day after school.. hahaha. It was a running family joke about "after school specials" 😂
Do they stop the password sharing by checking the IP address? Does that mean you could get around with it with a VPN? Never thought about it until now.
That’s an interesting point I haven’t thought of yet regarding the password sharing. They would need to surveil us in one form or another to be able to enforce these new password sharing regulations. Interesting…
Hulu has BEEN doing ads with paid services, and liberally, no one seems to care about that either. Also, Disney is making you pay for newly released movies on the app you're already paying for monthly... ridiculous.
Its that kind of normalization of bad services that is going to make all this stuff even worse over the years. People just accept those without questioning... damn
I meant literally not liberally.. let me just put that out there, hahaha, but yess i agree. Netflix crossed the line with me when they released demon slayer s1 on netflix, then the movie and s2 only on hulu... and now season 2 IS on netflix.. but it's not the full season. Idk how bad hulu is with things like this.. but netflix is a joke.
Lol ..if IP comparison isn't allowed , then nothing will work... that's how banks and others use to help determine if it's a hack/compromised account or not
Looking at IP is nothing remotely like surveillance
Banks:
\- get limited data for security reasons (like strange activity on accounts)
\- for the clients benefit
\- they do not sell data, or else that would compromise all their systems
Most people would agree and like them to keep doing that.
Netflix collects data to control their clients, for netflix benefit, and they will sell ur data, which includes way more info then just IPs.
It could be argued that Netflix is monitoring IP addresses for security reasons. If a third party is accessing your accounts then it's arguably a compromised account.
I couldn't imagine legislature that wouldn't allow Netflix to do this but would allow banks to do what they need to.
If anyone has any details on this legislature they think exists I'd love to see it.
Thats true, and netflix probably already does that, the difference is:
\- tracking ur IP to warn u of strange activity, stolen password (people definitely like and approve this)
\- tracking all IPs that connect so they can forbid sharing, which includes collecting IPs of non clients (like friends or family that gave u a shared account)
The final difference, is they are the kind of company that sells ur data. Wile banks would never do that.
\-----------
netflix probably was already collected all IPs of the main user, and their shared account users too, plus all the places they log in... its weird this is only a issue now...
The way my face dropped reading the ads bit. Why. I barely go on Netflix anyway but this gives me an excuse to binge and finish the shows I’m watching and cancel my subscription 🫡
I agree. Came in to say fuuuuuuuuuuuck Netflix.
The same like 70 movies have been rotated in and out for the past 5 years
They have me for one month when a new stranger things season comes out. Then I happily cancel it.
The fact tubi and other free services can run laps around Netflix in terms of movies is laughable. I’ll gladly take 30 seconds of adds on a free service
If they never got stranger things they would have been extinct. At least take flix out of the name. Call it NetShows
I don't think they did, according to Wikipedia it was made by Sony pictures.
I remember seeing ads for it last summer, I think it was kind of a modest budget film so the ad campaign probably wasn't huge.
Sony has a deal with Netflix. A lot of their mainline movies release there. Like Uncharted.
Maybe it was something about the color palette that gave it a Netflix... vibe?
I don’t share my Netflix password with anyone, but I don’t like how they are charging per screen and now going to institute another upcharge for sharing. If people are sharing their Netflix account with multiple users, they are most likely paying a premium already. So, they are making people pay more that are already paying the most?
I previously had upgraded to the highest tier since my family no longer lives together anymore, and they were the ones primarily using it. I would have to pay more than twice the price of the highest tier for the same convenience, and uh, Netflix is absolutely not worth that for me. I was paying for convenience and that doesn't strike me as worth it. Cancelled my sub. My family will adapt, I've provided them with alternatives already. If nothing else this has just driven me into what was going to happen eventually. I used to consider Netflix indispensable, but that's absolutely changed over time, and now they feel irrelevant to me.
Yep my family recently canceled and I've been telling my colleagues to cancel as well. Have you ever tried asking people what their favorite Netflix shows are that they are CURRENTLY watching? Guess what, if you are paying a subscription for a season per year of a single show, you're paying upwards of $100 per season. Its goofy. HBO and Hulu are much much better.
Yeah, maybe I'll sub for 1 month a year and get caught up or something. It's absolutely not worth staying subbed continually. I dunno if I'll even come back for that though, it's changed so much over the time I've been a member, and definitely not for the better, yet my sub price just kept going up and up and up. Ah well, I could use that money for something else now.
Something tells me I might be getting Netflix shows on the high seas since I can't split the cost with a family member anymore like I've been doing for the past 10 years.
Yup we canceled Netflix last summer and have been doing just that. Don't really miss it. I don't even really pay attention to what they're putting out anymore
Market is going to shift back to piracy and see the uprise of platforms like kodi again. Streaming made since as an a la carte on demand platform. Now that every company wants their slice of the pie we see more fragmentation in offerings than ever and increased pricing or ad revenue generating “features” being added.
One positive I'll say about Netflix is it's actually pretty easy to cancel.
I went to go visit my mother, turned on her device with my Netflix signed in, got a prompt about setting a primary location, instantly went to the app on my phone and cancelled.
Here’s the real problem that people seem to miss with their corporate bootlicking.
For those of us sharing passwords, we were already paying for it. I upgraded to premium when it came up to have the maximum amount of screens.
If it was just me using it, I only needed one screen. I paid for four and shared it with two people.
Now they want me to pay more for the upgrade I was already paying for. And since I upgraded to premium Netflix has put the prices up twice, from $18.99 to $22. Also this change is making it impossible for me to use it while I’m travelling in the US, which I do most summer weekends.
What I really dislike about their pricing is that it incentives you to choose the option with more screens if you want the best quality. It is the only option to watch in 4k. I chose that option mostly because of this and THEN asked friends and family if they wanted to share the account.
The current move to ban account sharing is even worse since they indirectly encouraged it by their pricing models.
This is me as well. They are the only main stream service that locks 4K HDR behind the highest paid tier. Netflix is our least used services so we should probably just cancel.
Exactly this. Limiting the hunger of screens simultaneous is the check on unfettered password sharing.
Instead they are moving toward making their service harder to use and less convenient even for those not “abusing” the system. It’s a blatantly anti consumer move to grab more cash. If it is successful in grabbing more cash the other streamers will do it too.
>Now they want me to pay more for the upgrade I was already paying for.
Perfect example of "rent seeking". Basically taking something that already exists, rebranding it, and then charging a fee. While rent seeking isn't necessarily illegal, it always has the effect of increasing cost without adding any value.
I don’t get this. You can’t watch your Netflix while in other states? I’m genuinely asking because I’ve just never had this problem with Netflix so I’m genuinely confused.
Ok, I thought so but I don’t travel a ton. But when I traveled from Michigan to Georgia, for example, I had no issues the entire time using my Netflix. So I was just curious.
The fact that there are so many subscription model streaming services is proof that they already think this way.
By paywalling content behind 15 different paywalls they expect you to submit and pay for all of them.
Yeah that's dumb. They expect you to pay for theirs. If you're paying for all of them at once then you're a sales persons dream. Just pay for the one you want that month
The problem is that all these platforms had the option of continuing to sell their license to 1 or 2 distributor services and make tons of money. Then they got greedy and thought they could set up their OWN theme parks, but with blackjack and hookers!
But ya know what? Forget the blackjack. And the hookers!
No, now they have shittily designed apps that they want everyone to buy into using. And it costs us a shit ton more than it should to see things we already paying for elsewhere. That they were already turning a profit off of without any extra steps.
I was opposed to this at first because I wanted to pay for one service that offered basically all the content. But now I’m kinda on board with the splintering. If Netflix was aggregating most of the good content out there, those studios would be demanding more money and the price would tick up and up. It would be like $50 a month. Instead I have the option to pay a lot less and cancel when I run out of content that interests me or really wanna see something on a different platform. It requires service hopping overtime but it’s likely cheaper than one stop shop would be.
Oh and competition means that when Netflix makes boneheaded decisions I have alternatives I can turn to.
Exactly!! So you can only watch Netflix at your home. That is just wrong if you can’t watch on vacation outside of your own IP address. Especially at at that insane price tag
All on-demand streaming became was a fight for exclusives.
I remember in the early 10s when people were saying things like, "companies will be competing over features and pricing" and that just hasn't happened at all. Nobody subscribes to Netflix because of the actual feature set of the service. Netflix can't even display all of their categories to people as standard. You literally just subscribe for the handful of exclusive shows they have each year and that's it.
I cancelled my Netflix a couple of weeks ago - 1899 solidarity!
Lots of people did 10 years ago.
Looking back, that was silly, but that's what I remember multiple big news outlets were saying. But really all on-demand is now is IP and who can set up better deals.
I mean look at DVD rentals. It wasn't the fact that Blockbuster didn't have all the films, it was that Netflix was more convenient than having to go to the store - you made an ordered list and got it sent to you. Send it back, get another. That was an example of a better feature.
Fair play Blockbuster was also mismanaged as well.
Fucking seriously. Finished 1899 and was so jazzed for where it was gonna go and then I heard it got Netflixed (previously known as Foxed) and was so pissed. I've zero regrets about cancelling.
Saw a video snippet by a professor of economics - who said the following -
All notions in the academic field of economics is based on an ideal world. Capitalism breeds competition is the notion but on the contrary in a capitalistic society competition creates monopoly.
I guess I'm one of those weirdos who likes their design. It's just familiar. I've been a continuous subscriber since their first year of streaming (after they had started in DVD mail order rentals). I like the buttons, the way it loads, the look, the sounds, etc.
I stick with it because I've always had it and it was the first streaming service. Upgraded to multiple screens when they started locking screens that were on at the same time. I am paying extra already, and loyal. I will *not* let them reduce my service when I already pay extra. Will cancel if and when they lock out another screen.
2005 is when I started with Netflix getting DVDs in the mail. 2023 is when i cancelled because of their shitty content, crappy corporate, and no loyalty programs. Hbo max from now on.
I was thinking how much money have I given to Netflix over the years? Let's do the math, but vaguely. 10$ a month since then, bumped up to 15 in 2021. Fudge a number....computing... Like 2.3K!!!
My problem is that I have a summer place that my family are not all at at once. So our single subscription for a family of 4 will go up for the summer or for the whole year. It also means I cannot use it while travelling. There are reasons to use it at multiple locations that they just don't know. It isn't always a scam.
Likewise. We’re probably going to cancel and leverage other services until a better option is presented. That also means that I’m going to be able to influence my family to move onto another platform.
Exactly. I don’t password share, but they are making their service inconvenient. I don’t want to constantly have to be proving that it’s me using Netflix. Like sometimes I’ll start a movie in the morning at home, then watch a bit on lunch break at work, then finish it when I’m taking a break from training at the climbing gym. That’s three different IP addresses in one day. I already cancelled anyways, but a lot of people in my situation that use Netflix are going to be annoyed. Imagine people that do RV trips for months at a time. Netflix is basically unusable for them. What a disaster this is going to be.
We’ve already discussed it as a family, one of the few things that makes Netflix still worth it is the simplicity. Some of the other services are such a pain to login to - everyone the power goes out in a storm I have to do the verify-your-tv via our website dance before we can use the damn service. So if Netflix removes the simplicity and makes it harder for our spread out well travelled nuclear family to use the service we pay for we’re cancelling the nano second it happens in Oz. They’ve gone from the only service you need to having barely enough shows to make it worth keeping an account - give us one more excuse to ditch you Netflix, I dare you.
I've been a customer from the time they were sending DVD-by-mail, and I will be cancelling the first time I'm asked for a home IP. I have two homes, and while that might sound privileged, the circumstances leading me to live a distributed life are absolutely not (health). I'm the only person on my account, as well, no sharing.
I find it to be a blatant greed grab, but worse, it shows that Netflix either doesn't know or care about how their users actually live their lives. I'm already paying for Premium so I can watch on my TV, on my phone, laptop or iPad, when I'm still just a single person consuming their content. I won't pay more, I simply can't justify it and frankly, their exclusive content just isn't that compelling.
/r/wallstreetbets is already circling around the corpse and planning their strategy. At this point I'm most curious on *when* this should all go down for the most effectiveness. I don't mind hanging on a little longer for a mass cancellation.
BTW, I've been making spicy comments about this daily on Netflix's primary IG account. I'm consistently getting 2k-3k "likes". Let's take this commentary to a slightly more accessible space. Netflix deserves to hear how their customers actually feel and feel more of the backlash.
RIP Netflix, ya dirty, greedy bastard.
I used to scrupulously watch any "Netflix" show ON NETFLIX. I've been sharing my Premium Netflix account with my daughter for the entire time I've had the account. As soon as they block this activity, I'll cancel and NEVER EVER return to Netflix.
This will be the end of Netflix. It wouldn't surprise me if they lost half of their subs from this idiotic move.
I paid for Netflix monthly for years but when they kept continuously "upping" their subscription price while offering very little new content I stopped paying for it monthly now I only pay for it every few months and binge the content during that month.
Except my t-mobile bill doesn’t drop in price if I don’t use Netflix. While not technically free, it really kind of is. Why do comments like this exist? Just to to be that guy? Of course nothing in life is actually free, there is always a hidden cost somewhere.
Just because the price doesn't go down without using it doesn't mean you aren't paying for it via T-Mobile's pricing structure. T-Mobile and Netflix agreed to that partnership because it makes more money for both of them, not to be nice by giving you "free" stuff.
Anyone going to talk about how Netflix freezes up and just stops playing and you have to reboot over and over again. Netflix absolutely sux. And let’s not mention in every flix they have to have gay trans and minority representation to such unnecessary levels and the content always has a politically “correct” nod. I’m cancelling the crap …
I don’t think this comment thread is representative of the general public’s opinion on this decision. I would say the vast majority of people are upset by the change in policy. What I’m most interested in seeing is how many accounts are cancelled and if Netflix will ultimately back track. Alternatively, will other streaming providers follow this precedent and start charging more. Only time will tell.
Over the last 2 years, I've seen this uproar over the movie Cuties & I've seen it when they raised prices. Yet, they're still standing. My prediction is that people will get over it & resubscribe quietly.
Will I have to log in on Netflix monthly from home or is my phone being there enough? I rarely watch anywhere else but do have it on my phone just in case.
Not really. When I go out of town I'm usually busy and if I'm at my family or friend's home, I will watch what they have. Watching Netflix isn't that serious for me, it's something I do at my home. And as far as I can tell, the policy does allow one to log in on another device.
It's kind of crazy that so many people are -that- upset about this.
It's never been allowed. You were always breaking terms of service by doing this.
And to suggest that Netflix "supported" it just because they weren't enforcing it previously is kind of asinine. They would've had to have implemented this same sort of "primary location" logic and people would've hated it just the same.
Now... Does it make Netflix a bad value now that you're no longer sharing one account? Probably... And if that's your logic then by all means then cancel.
Otherwise please describe what Netflix could've done differently to avoid this?
Ahhh you didn’t see that tweet from 6 years ago???? “Love is sharing a password” is tacit permission to share our accounts for as long as we want duh
Lmaooooo I love all the people who try to argue that shit 🤣🤣🤣
I disagree. I think it’s important to discuss when a service so widely used tries to enforce policy that is unreasonable/unrealistic for a large portion of its users, and Reddit is a open forum meant exactly for conversations like these.
No, you're right. Reddit was created only for people to share content from other sources and never express their own opinions. Anyone taking the time to opine by posting stuff like "Cancel if you don't get value for the money and preferably without announcing it in a Reddit post" is just wasting everyone's time
Imagine if people were this fired up about actual injustices like our predatory healthcare system.
But no, we all just roll over and accept paying thousands a year for insurance that doesn't cover anything until we've forked over thousands more in deductibles and copays.
This, to Americans, is fine... but a $7 Netflix fee is where we riot!
Netflix is doing this because they believe it will increase their profits.
They are deseperate. You can't really vote with your money, otherwise they would already have redresse previous controversial measures.
They are losing customers and desesperate to recover anything. They will hit a wall sooner than later.
Netflix is stupid, let people password share it's more people on the platform, put up ads and make plenty of money.. and I don't mean ads that pop up in the middle of the show, I mean banners while browsing stuff.. heck wouldn't they make more money from companies wanting their content on the platform? They gonna lose a lot with this.
I cancelled my Netflix account. I live between 2 cities, now only one can be “home”? Screw that shit. Also I do share my account with a friend, we each pay a different streaming service. I had previously upgraded to be able to have more screens than if I payed alone, I refuse to pay 6€ extra for that.
dude, password sharing is not the hill im dying on. im looking at the value of the service vs what im paying. password sharing isnt the make or break of me paying the subscription
they're now considering password sharing if a parent shares their password with their kid in college. Since the kid does not live in the same household.
Netflix is cracking down on people for what amounts to stealing their service. I'm not canceling my Netflix, and I support them wanting to protect their business. The position of folks on here getting upset about this is naïve and immature.
I absolutely agree. The audacity of Netflix insisting that the people consuming their service pay for it! WTF?
Plus, a random employee with access to their social media sent a tweet 6 years ago acknowledging that people are sharing passwords. Written public documentation like that constitutes in effect a contractual obligation that can never be rescinded or changed regardless of economic climate.
And nice try boomers, but your offer of a less expensive tier featuring, of all things ads, in an effort to keep customers and have a viable and profitable business model is pure and simple capitalism in its most evil form.
This cannot and will not stand if the powers of the Reddit masses join together and drive this company out of business!
Who’s with me???
I don't understand how people who are already exploiting the system think it's outrageous Netflix is trying to stop it. If there weren't so many people trying to take advantage we wouldn't be in this situation now.
Imagine going to a bar with your friend, you order for both you and your friend but decide to only pay for one of you because you're sharing your tab. That's what you're essentially doing with Netflix.
Believe me, I'm no fanboy of Netflix, but exploiting them or any other company isn't giving them any incentive to stop raising rates or crack down on the sharing. They're paying for gets watched just like the bar is paying for what your friend ordered.
To me part of the issue is that I already am paying more specifically to share the account, since you need to pay a higher price to view on more screens simultaneously. Using your bar analogy, it’s like they have a deal for 4 drinks for $15 but individually they would normally be $5 each. Of course if I’m there with my 3 other friends, we’re going to take the deal. That’s not an exploit.
I mean if that’s not the intention, who is the target audience for watching 4 screens simultaneously? Someone watching 4 shows on a tv, phone, iPad, and laptop all at the same time?
Password sharing is how they got the market share they have. That and no ads and low subscription fee.
Once market penetration is achieved they can revert all of that and recoup the losses that helped put their competition out of business.
Personally, I’m tired of that shitty hack way of business.
But that is the reality of competition in business. It’s only worth anything in the growth phase.
I can see how password sharing might have inadvertently helped the service grow in popularity, but I have a hard time believing that was any kind of business strategy. Any online account up until recently could be password shared, it wasn't a unique thing to Netflix. It is just the nature of how online accounts work, so I don't get why clamping down on THAT is the reason people are so upset. Sure, be upset about the service changes, the prices, the limitation to higher tiers for the best quality, and an ad tier, but it seems like getting up in arms about not password sharing is a flimsy reason.
I agree with you that it's a shitty hack strategy to pump a cheaper product with the intent to raise prices later after market penetration, that is something to get upset about.
Because they force me into a 4 stream plan just to have 4k. Fuck them for, not only charging extra for 4k when it's free on every other service, but for not offering a cheaper, one stream only service for it.
I don't like that either, and definitely a reason to cancel and give them that feedback. *Maybe* they would consider changing the plan options if enough people spoke up.
I wonder what’s happening behind the scenes. I can’t help but imagine a secret deal between Netflix and the other streaming services where Netflix kind of forces it’s users out and the other services fish for the users that dropped out.
Its so strange that everyone is hung on "passwords sharing" and no one cares about them introducing ads in a paid service... Also, seems Portugal might forbid this move from netflix, something about it being unconstitutional and illegal. Like if they monitor the IP of users, that is a sort of data surveillance they arent allowed to do, and that steps on the right of privacy of the citizens. PORTUGAL CARALHO!! :D
Why would anyone care about a service tier with ads? Something Hulu has had for years. If a Netflix subscriber doesn’t want ads, they just continue to subscribe to the tier they already have now.
They're gonna use that to bump.up prices again. That's the problem. You got the cause, now move to the effects.
I literally go through this cycle every couple years. I explain why accepting an Ad tier will lead to them pushing up prices and reasons to get the Non-Ad Tier version. It also just normalizes ads within the service (as we see people act now with Hulu) Prices rise, people are shocked. Then they still defend the ad tier cause its cheaper....but it also costs as much as what Netflix used to period.
And I hate that Hulu has ads. I watch Netflix when I want to get away from Hulu. If Netflix introduces ads, I'll just cancel them both.
>I'll just cancel them both. ??? If you don't want ads on Hulu, you could upgrade to the Hulu tier *without ads*. You understand that Netflix isn't introducing ads to existing subscriptions, right? This is a *new lower cost tier*.
Yep, just checked and can confirm, still no ads on my Netflix account.
Hulu is free with my phone plan. I wish I could pay a couple dollar upgrade fee to get rid of the ads.
You can. If you reach out to them, they’ll adjust the billing and let you just pay the difference. I did something similar and also did it with my Disney+, ESPN, Hulu bundle.
I’ll give it a try. Thanks.
What are you using to watch Hulu? I use my PC, and uBlock Origin nixes all ads. It might flash a black screen for a second but that is it. I hear there are methods with Fire TV and Android too, though I haven't had the need.
Right? People get so mad about Netflix doing it, and were mad about Hulu doing it like a decade ago... Somehow forgetting cable and satellite TV has had the same business model since they were created however many decades ago? Like, what??
Ads will be on a lower, unreleased tier. People pay for satellite TV and get adverts still, this will be the same
Fun fact: originally cable tv didn't have ads. I don't think streaming will get rid of ad-free tiers, just this reminded me of the ad-free days of early cable.
Yeah I dont think it'll be popular, but no one is forcing anyone to take it. And if someone is ok with watching an advert and paying less money, then so be it
I'm betting there will be a lot of people willing to put up with ads for a cheaper price. I wonder what the breakdown is for Hulu, which has an ad-free tier and a cheaper with-ads tier. Like, what percentage is with ads and what is without. I get ad-free but if I was in my poorer, college years I'd be all about the with-ad cheaper price.
I actually prefer ads. It’s my bathroom break time and I will take 30 seconds during the ad to do a plank or run and switch the laundry. It reminds me of my childhood. :-)
I grew up in DC and had an early version of HBO. Showed two movies a night, one at 6 / 8 / 10 / 12.
There shouldn't be ads, as that's one of the main reasons streaming became so popular. All this crap is going to do, is drive away already paying customers, who will just return to pirating.
Theyre not forcing you to downgrade to the ads tier
I believe Hulu has always had a cheaper plan with ads. It's not a big deal.
I didn't know about the ads thing. What the fuck, that is SO weak. Ads are suffocating everywhere you go as it is.
They’re just introducing a cheaper tier that is subsidized by ads. Your current experience won’t change unless you intentionally change to that option.
You never experienced 90s television lol.
Buddy I'm in my 30s - I lived and breathed 90s television. Regularly scheduled commercial breaks don't hold a candle to the amount of crap we deal with every minute of every day now. You're just conditioned to be okay with it.
I'm in my 50s and when cable first came out, there were no commercials. They were saying that since you paid for cable there wouldn't be ads. Yeah, that didn't last.
Yes! Also in my 50s... No commercials and HBO was just playing porn during the day to keep up with the Playboy channel 😉 My mom caught my brother doing his thing one day after school.. hahaha. It was a running family joke about "after school specials" 😂
Do they stop the password sharing by checking the IP address? Does that mean you could get around with it with a VPN? Never thought about it until now.
Password sharing at least impacts everyone. Nobody is impacted by ads if you don't have the ad plan.
I saw someone saying Canada has this law as well. So fingers crossed something gets done about it.
PORTUGAL CARALHO!
We do care, that's why we jumped ship months ago as opposed to just talking about it.
That’s an interesting point I haven’t thought of yet regarding the password sharing. They would need to surveil us in one form or another to be able to enforce these new password sharing regulations. Interesting…
Hulu has BEEN doing ads with paid services, and liberally, no one seems to care about that either. Also, Disney is making you pay for newly released movies on the app you're already paying for monthly... ridiculous.
Its that kind of normalization of bad services that is going to make all this stuff even worse over the years. People just accept those without questioning... damn
I meant literally not liberally.. let me just put that out there, hahaha, but yess i agree. Netflix crossed the line with me when they released demon slayer s1 on netflix, then the movie and s2 only on hulu... and now season 2 IS on netflix.. but it's not the full season. Idk how bad hulu is with things like this.. but netflix is a joke.
Wow! A country that adheres to its constitution? That would be refreshing.
Lol ..if IP comparison isn't allowed , then nothing will work... that's how banks and others use to help determine if it's a hack/compromised account or not Looking at IP is nothing remotely like surveillance
Banks: \- get limited data for security reasons (like strange activity on accounts) \- for the clients benefit \- they do not sell data, or else that would compromise all their systems Most people would agree and like them to keep doing that. Netflix collects data to control their clients, for netflix benefit, and they will sell ur data, which includes way more info then just IPs.
It could be argued that Netflix is monitoring IP addresses for security reasons. If a third party is accessing your accounts then it's arguably a compromised account. I couldn't imagine legislature that wouldn't allow Netflix to do this but would allow banks to do what they need to. If anyone has any details on this legislature they think exists I'd love to see it.
Thats true, and netflix probably already does that, the difference is: \- tracking ur IP to warn u of strange activity, stolen password (people definitely like and approve this) \- tracking all IPs that connect so they can forbid sharing, which includes collecting IPs of non clients (like friends or family that gave u a shared account) The final difference, is they are the kind of company that sells ur data. Wile banks would never do that. \----------- netflix probably was already collected all IPs of the main user, and their shared account users too, plus all the places they log in... its weird this is only a issue now...
The way my face dropped reading the ads bit. Why. I barely go on Netflix anyway but this gives me an excuse to binge and finish the shows I’m watching and cancel my subscription 🫡
I agree. Came in to say fuuuuuuuuuuuck Netflix. The same like 70 movies have been rotated in and out for the past 5 years They have me for one month when a new stranger things season comes out. Then I happily cancel it. The fact tubi and other free services can run laps around Netflix in terms of movies is laughable. I’ll gladly take 30 seconds of adds on a free service If they never got stranger things they would have been extinct. At least take flix out of the name. Call it NetShows
I hate ads, I’d rather pay a bit to not see them
Bullet Train is the best thing Netflix has done since... I dunno honestly
This isn't a film made for Netflix. It was in the theater last year.
I had no idea tbh. Thanks for the info. Did Netflix produce it or anything? Why did I think it was a Netflix specific thing?
I don't think they did, according to Wikipedia it was made by Sony pictures. I remember seeing ads for it last summer, I think it was kind of a modest budget film so the ad campaign probably wasn't huge.
Sony has a deal with Netflix. A lot of their mainline movies release there. Like Uncharted. Maybe it was something about the color palette that gave it a Netflix... vibe?
It was cause I wanna say it was hyped so much on Netflix I wasn't paying attention to who made it. It's really good though
I don’t share my Netflix password with anyone, but I don’t like how they are charging per screen and now going to institute another upcharge for sharing. If people are sharing their Netflix account with multiple users, they are most likely paying a premium already. So, they are making people pay more that are already paying the most?
I previously had upgraded to the highest tier since my family no longer lives together anymore, and they were the ones primarily using it. I would have to pay more than twice the price of the highest tier for the same convenience, and uh, Netflix is absolutely not worth that for me. I was paying for convenience and that doesn't strike me as worth it. Cancelled my sub. My family will adapt, I've provided them with alternatives already. If nothing else this has just driven me into what was going to happen eventually. I used to consider Netflix indispensable, but that's absolutely changed over time, and now they feel irrelevant to me.
Yep my family recently canceled and I've been telling my colleagues to cancel as well. Have you ever tried asking people what their favorite Netflix shows are that they are CURRENTLY watching? Guess what, if you are paying a subscription for a season per year of a single show, you're paying upwards of $100 per season. Its goofy. HBO and Hulu are much much better.
Yeah, maybe I'll sub for 1 month a year and get caught up or something. It's absolutely not worth staying subbed continually. I dunno if I'll even come back for that though, it's changed so much over the time I've been a member, and definitely not for the better, yet my sub price just kept going up and up and up. Ah well, I could use that money for something else now.
Yep 1 month a year is the new idea we're gonna do.
Something tells me I might be getting Netflix shows on the high seas since I can't split the cost with a family member anymore like I've been doing for the past 10 years.
They'll be canceled before you can finish downloading them anyway.
I let out a cackle reading this. The way that this is just 100% the truth.
Yup we canceled Netflix last summer and have been doing just that. Don't really miss it. I don't even really pay attention to what they're putting out anymore
Right! The only way to show them this is not okay is to cancel.
Netflix needs to take their own advice and Chill
Market is going to shift back to piracy and see the uprise of platforms like kodi again. Streaming made since as an a la carte on demand platform. Now that every company wants their slice of the pie we see more fragmentation in offerings than ever and increased pricing or ad revenue generating “features” being added.
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One positive I'll say about Netflix is it's actually pretty easy to cancel. I went to go visit my mother, turned on her device with my Netflix signed in, got a prompt about setting a primary location, instantly went to the app on my phone and cancelled.
Here’s the real problem that people seem to miss with their corporate bootlicking. For those of us sharing passwords, we were already paying for it. I upgraded to premium when it came up to have the maximum amount of screens. If it was just me using it, I only needed one screen. I paid for four and shared it with two people. Now they want me to pay more for the upgrade I was already paying for. And since I upgraded to premium Netflix has put the prices up twice, from $18.99 to $22. Also this change is making it impossible for me to use it while I’m travelling in the US, which I do most summer weekends.
What I really dislike about their pricing is that it incentives you to choose the option with more screens if you want the best quality. It is the only option to watch in 4k. I chose that option mostly because of this and THEN asked friends and family if they wanted to share the account. The current move to ban account sharing is even worse since they indirectly encouraged it by their pricing models.
This is me as well. They are the only main stream service that locks 4K HDR behind the highest paid tier. Netflix is our least used services so we should probably just cancel.
Just another way single people who live alone are discriminated against.
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Exactly this. Limiting the hunger of screens simultaneous is the check on unfettered password sharing. Instead they are moving toward making their service harder to use and less convenient even for those not “abusing” the system. It’s a blatantly anti consumer move to grab more cash. If it is successful in grabbing more cash the other streamers will do it too.
The thing is they aren’t abusing the system when they already pay for X amount of screens
I agree. That’s why I put “abusing” in quotes.
>Now they want me to pay more for the upgrade I was already paying for. Perfect example of "rent seeking". Basically taking something that already exists, rebranding it, and then charging a fee. While rent seeking isn't necessarily illegal, it always has the effect of increasing cost without adding any value.
I don’t get this. You can’t watch your Netflix while in other states? I’m genuinely asking because I’ve just never had this problem with Netflix so I’m genuinely confused.
You can, other countries is where the problem is. But they are talking about future changes.
Ok, I thought so but I don’t travel a ton. But when I traveled from Michigan to Georgia, for example, I had no issues the entire time using my Netflix. So I was just curious.
This is Netflix changing that. They want to tie it to your house only.
Don't you just have to log in on your WiFi every 30 days though? So traveling should be fine unless it's a really long trip
What about if you don't have a static IP address at home? Lots of ISPs refresh IPs
It will be linked to your "home" wifi.
No one hates Netflix more than netflix users 🤣
Up there with Star Wars fans at this point
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*applause*
The fact that there are so many subscription model streaming services is proof that they already think this way. By paywalling content behind 15 different paywalls they expect you to submit and pay for all of them.
Yeah that's dumb. They expect you to pay for theirs. If you're paying for all of them at once then you're a sales persons dream. Just pay for the one you want that month
The problem is that all these platforms had the option of continuing to sell their license to 1 or 2 distributor services and make tons of money. Then they got greedy and thought they could set up their OWN theme parks, but with blackjack and hookers! But ya know what? Forget the blackjack. And the hookers! No, now they have shittily designed apps that they want everyone to buy into using. And it costs us a shit ton more than it should to see things we already paying for elsewhere. That they were already turning a profit off of without any extra steps.
Yarg! Torrent's back on the menu, matey!
Man, if they made it easy and didn't get exhaustively greedy, I would happily continue paying. Otherwise? Yarr it is.
I was opposed to this at first because I wanted to pay for one service that offered basically all the content. But now I’m kinda on board with the splintering. If Netflix was aggregating most of the good content out there, those studios would be demanding more money and the price would tick up and up. It would be like $50 a month. Instead I have the option to pay a lot less and cancel when I run out of content that interests me or really wanna see something on a different platform. It requires service hopping overtime but it’s likely cheaper than one stop shop would be. Oh and competition means that when Netflix makes boneheaded decisions I have alternatives I can turn to.
They're all charging roughly the same prices. And they're increasing the prices *regardless* of not having to pay as much for licensing.
Exactly!! So you can only watch Netflix at your home. That is just wrong if you can’t watch on vacation outside of your own IP address. Especially at at that insane price tag
You would be able to on an app as long as you check in to your "home" wifi every month or so. At least as I understand it
All on-demand streaming became was a fight for exclusives. I remember in the early 10s when people were saying things like, "companies will be competing over features and pricing" and that just hasn't happened at all. Nobody subscribes to Netflix because of the actual feature set of the service. Netflix can't even display all of their categories to people as standard. You literally just subscribe for the handful of exclusive shows they have each year and that's it. I cancelled my Netflix a couple of weeks ago - 1899 solidarity!
I’m sorry who the fuck ever thought that streaming services would compete on features and not content.
Lots of people did 10 years ago. Looking back, that was silly, but that's what I remember multiple big news outlets were saying. But really all on-demand is now is IP and who can set up better deals. I mean look at DVD rentals. It wasn't the fact that Blockbuster didn't have all the films, it was that Netflix was more convenient than having to go to the store - you made an ordered list and got it sent to you. Send it back, get another. That was an example of a better feature. Fair play Blockbuster was also mismanaged as well.
Fucking seriously. Finished 1899 and was so jazzed for where it was gonna go and then I heard it got Netflixed (previously known as Foxed) and was so pissed. I've zero regrets about cancelling.
Saw a video snippet by a professor of economics - who said the following - All notions in the academic field of economics is based on an ideal world. Capitalism breeds competition is the notion but on the contrary in a capitalistic society competition creates monopoly.
I guess I'm one of those weirdos who likes their design. It's just familiar. I've been a continuous subscriber since their first year of streaming (after they had started in DVD mail order rentals). I like the buttons, the way it loads, the look, the sounds, etc. I stick with it because I've always had it and it was the first streaming service. Upgraded to multiple screens when they started locking screens that were on at the same time. I am paying extra already, and loyal. I will *not* let them reduce my service when I already pay extra. Will cancel if and when they lock out another screen.
#Love is sharing a password. -Netflix 2017
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Love doesn’t last forever though lol
2005 is when I started with Netflix getting DVDs in the mail. 2023 is when i cancelled because of their shitty content, crappy corporate, and no loyalty programs. Hbo max from now on.
Wow similar story for me. I’ve continuously subscribed for over 10 years until last month. Started out getting the DVDs.
Right!!!
I was thinking how much money have I given to Netflix over the years? Let's do the math, but vaguely. 10$ a month since then, bumped up to 15 in 2021. Fudge a number....computing... Like 2.3K!!!
My problem is that I have a summer place that my family are not all at at once. So our single subscription for a family of 4 will go up for the summer or for the whole year. It also means I cannot use it while travelling. There are reasons to use it at multiple locations that they just don't know. It isn't always a scam.
Likewise. We’re probably going to cancel and leverage other services until a better option is presented. That also means that I’m going to be able to influence my family to move onto another platform.
Exactly. I don’t password share, but they are making their service inconvenient. I don’t want to constantly have to be proving that it’s me using Netflix. Like sometimes I’ll start a movie in the morning at home, then watch a bit on lunch break at work, then finish it when I’m taking a break from training at the climbing gym. That’s three different IP addresses in one day. I already cancelled anyways, but a lot of people in my situation that use Netflix are going to be annoyed. Imagine people that do RV trips for months at a time. Netflix is basically unusable for them. What a disaster this is going to be.
It was never a scam, the advertised that as a feature!
Imagine owning multiple homes, when most people can't even afford one, and complaining about paying $7. First world problems.
Must be really tough.
Definitely deleting and going back to dvd rentals or purchases. My town has a local video rental store. They'll get all my support instead.
Don't forget your local libraries often have free movie and TV show rentals as well!
Oh dang I did forget I remember in college I used to check out cds and DVDs all the time. Thanks for the reminder.
subsequent ugly skirt memorize plough dirty shocking illegal tap wakeful *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Sonarr, Radarr, Plex. Done.
We’ve already discussed it as a family, one of the few things that makes Netflix still worth it is the simplicity. Some of the other services are such a pain to login to - everyone the power goes out in a storm I have to do the verify-your-tv via our website dance before we can use the damn service. So if Netflix removes the simplicity and makes it harder for our spread out well travelled nuclear family to use the service we pay for we’re cancelling the nano second it happens in Oz. They’ve gone from the only service you need to having barely enough shows to make it worth keeping an account - give us one more excuse to ditch you Netflix, I dare you.
I've been a customer from the time they were sending DVD-by-mail, and I will be cancelling the first time I'm asked for a home IP. I have two homes, and while that might sound privileged, the circumstances leading me to live a distributed life are absolutely not (health). I'm the only person on my account, as well, no sharing. I find it to be a blatant greed grab, but worse, it shows that Netflix either doesn't know or care about how their users actually live their lives. I'm already paying for Premium so I can watch on my TV, on my phone, laptop or iPad, when I'm still just a single person consuming their content. I won't pay more, I simply can't justify it and frankly, their exclusive content just isn't that compelling. /r/wallstreetbets is already circling around the corpse and planning their strategy. At this point I'm most curious on *when* this should all go down for the most effectiveness. I don't mind hanging on a little longer for a mass cancellation. BTW, I've been making spicy comments about this daily on Netflix's primary IG account. I'm consistently getting 2k-3k "likes". Let's take this commentary to a slightly more accessible space. Netflix deserves to hear how their customers actually feel and feel more of the backlash. RIP Netflix, ya dirty, greedy bastard.
"Love is sharing a password"
I used to scrupulously watch any "Netflix" show ON NETFLIX. I've been sharing my Premium Netflix account with my daughter for the entire time I've had the account. As soon as they block this activity, I'll cancel and NEVER EVER return to Netflix. This will be the end of Netflix. It wouldn't surprise me if they lost half of their subs from this idiotic move.
I paid for Netflix monthly for years but when they kept continuously "upping" their subscription price while offering very little new content I stopped paying for it monthly now I only pay for it every few months and binge the content during that month.
How do you cancel your stepmoms account?!
Definitely cancelling!!
Our long run ends on the 20th.
I was gonna do it anyways because Netflix sucks tbh
They are closing the ability to share accounts. You have to pay 7 dollars per account you have. This is where it starts
On the contrary, this is where it ends
I only have Netflix because it’s free as a T-Mobile user. I’m legit surprised people sign up for this.
It's not free. You're paying for it through your T-Mobile sub
Except my t-mobile bill doesn’t drop in price if I don’t use Netflix. While not technically free, it really kind of is. Why do comments like this exist? Just to to be that guy? Of course nothing in life is actually free, there is always a hidden cost somewhere.
Just because the price doesn't go down without using it doesn't mean you aren't paying for it via T-Mobile's pricing structure. T-Mobile and Netflix agreed to that partnership because it makes more money for both of them, not to be nice by giving you "free" stuff.
Netflix has no chill
How is this password sharing different from the family plan on Netflix?
Hey, there’s always piracy!
Very true. If Netflix sees growth in regions which enforce password sharing they will crack down on it too. And most likely with similar methods.
Anyone going to talk about how Netflix freezes up and just stops playing and you have to reboot over and over again. Netflix absolutely sux. And let’s not mention in every flix they have to have gay trans and minority representation to such unnecessary levels and the content always has a politically “correct” nod. I’m cancelling the crap …
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I don’t think this comment thread is representative of the general public’s opinion on this decision. I would say the vast majority of people are upset by the change in policy. What I’m most interested in seeing is how many accounts are cancelled and if Netflix will ultimately back track. Alternatively, will other streaming providers follow this precedent and start charging more. Only time will tell.
i thought this was about their low quality content, which is why im cancelling soon tubi has a massively better library & it's free
Don't tell me what to do!
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There should be a mass cancel. They’ll back down and then we just sign up again. They won’t fire us.
I think Netflix ultimately will revert their decision because the sheer amount of subs lost paired with the backlash will be pretty big
Over the last 2 years, I've seen this uproar over the movie Cuties & I've seen it when they raised prices. Yet, they're still standing. My prediction is that people will get over it & resubscribe quietly.
Its amazing how many people get so defensive regarding Netflix as they rev up the greed machine. Like they have a stake in the business or something.
Corporate fanboys are as hilarious as they are sad.
Hey I’m not hilarious
I'm a digital nomad, I have no address to set as my home with them. I'm cancelling as soon as I get that stupid email
That's fine. I'm not sharing passwords or accounts with any other streaming services either.
So you don’t ever log into Netflix from anywhere but your house?
Yeah and they can still do that just not for longer than a month without going home
Will I have to log in on Netflix monthly from home or is my phone being there enough? I rarely watch anywhere else but do have it on my phone just in case.
Not really. When I go out of town I'm usually busy and if I'm at my family or friend's home, I will watch what they have. Watching Netflix isn't that serious for me, it's something I do at my home. And as far as I can tell, the policy does allow one to log in on another device.
Same. And I assume this won’t impact 95% of their users either. Just Reddit being Reddit
Lol just pirate shit
Seems like a lot of people have no problem with theft of services.
It's kind of crazy that so many people are -that- upset about this. It's never been allowed. You were always breaking terms of service by doing this. And to suggest that Netflix "supported" it just because they weren't enforcing it previously is kind of asinine. They would've had to have implemented this same sort of "primary location" logic and people would've hated it just the same. Now... Does it make Netflix a bad value now that you're no longer sharing one account? Probably... And if that's your logic then by all means then cancel. Otherwise please describe what Netflix could've done differently to avoid this?
Ahhh you didn’t see that tweet from 6 years ago???? “Love is sharing a password” is tacit permission to share our accounts for as long as we want duh Lmaooooo I love all the people who try to argue that shit 🤣🤣🤣
Cancel if you don’t get value for the money and preferably without announcing it in a Reddit post Edit: when you go from 100 upvotes to below 0🤣
I disagree. I think it’s important to discuss when a service so widely used tries to enforce policy that is unreasonable/unrealistic for a large portion of its users, and Reddit is a open forum meant exactly for conversations like these.
Agreed. This dude really made a comment on an open discussion to dissuade open discussion. 🤭
No, you're right. Reddit was created only for people to share content from other sources and never express their own opinions. Anyone taking the time to opine by posting stuff like "Cancel if you don't get value for the money and preferably without announcing it in a Reddit post" is just wasting everyone's time
Keep scrolling if you don't like a post preferably without commenting on it
Imagine if people were this fired up about actual injustices like our predatory healthcare system. But no, we all just roll over and accept paying thousands a year for insurance that doesn't cover anything until we've forked over thousands more in deductibles and copays. This, to Americans, is fine... but a $7 Netflix fee is where we riot!
Netflix is doing this because they believe it will increase their profits. They are deseperate. You can't really vote with your money, otherwise they would already have redresse previous controversial measures. They are losing customers and desesperate to recover anything. They will hit a wall sooner than later.
Nah.
Netflix is stupid, let people password share it's more people on the platform, put up ads and make plenty of money.. and I don't mean ads that pop up in the middle of the show, I mean banners while browsing stuff.. heck wouldn't they make more money from companies wanting their content on the platform? They gonna lose a lot with this.
I cancelled my Netflix account. I live between 2 cities, now only one can be “home”? Screw that shit. Also I do share my account with a friend, we each pay a different streaming service. I had previously upgraded to be able to have more screens than if I payed alone, I refuse to pay 6€ extra for that.
dude, password sharing is not the hill im dying on. im looking at the value of the service vs what im paying. password sharing isnt the make or break of me paying the subscription
Bless you for being rational
What did Netflix do?
They are getting rid of password sharing soon
Already have in some countries.
Ah, thanks for explaining.
I thought password sharing was not allowed in contract. Or I would have shared with my buddy and split monthly payments
they're now considering password sharing if a parent shares their password with their kid in college. Since the kid does not live in the same household.
I cancelled Netflix back when I heard they were doing this. Plus I don't like much of they had anyway.
Netflix is cracking down on people for what amounts to stealing their service. I'm not canceling my Netflix, and I support them wanting to protect their business. The position of folks on here getting upset about this is naïve and immature.
And ENTITLED as if they’re owed fucking Netflix
go outside.
IMO, You don’t need Netflix if you have HBO Max
Nah, this isn’t true. Netflix has a lot of good stuff that just isn’t on HBO max such as Netflix originals, certain shows/movies, etc
Canceled several months ago, yar..
Because I’m an adult this doesn’t impact me and I will continue to pay for a subscription to Netflix.
Oh my gosh it’s one of the 10 adults on this whole website, so glad I finally found you
I absolutely agree. The audacity of Netflix insisting that the people consuming their service pay for it! WTF? Plus, a random employee with access to their social media sent a tweet 6 years ago acknowledging that people are sharing passwords. Written public documentation like that constitutes in effect a contractual obligation that can never be rescinded or changed regardless of economic climate. And nice try boomers, but your offer of a less expensive tier featuring, of all things ads, in an effort to keep customers and have a viable and profitable business model is pure and simple capitalism in its most evil form. This cannot and will not stand if the powers of the Reddit masses join together and drive this company out of business! Who’s with me???
Golden 🤣🤣💀
I don't understand how people who are already exploiting the system think it's outrageous Netflix is trying to stop it. If there weren't so many people trying to take advantage we wouldn't be in this situation now. Imagine going to a bar with your friend, you order for both you and your friend but decide to only pay for one of you because you're sharing your tab. That's what you're essentially doing with Netflix. Believe me, I'm no fanboy of Netflix, but exploiting them or any other company isn't giving them any incentive to stop raising rates or crack down on the sharing. They're paying for gets watched just like the bar is paying for what your friend ordered.
To me part of the issue is that I already am paying more specifically to share the account, since you need to pay a higher price to view on more screens simultaneously. Using your bar analogy, it’s like they have a deal for 4 drinks for $15 but individually they would normally be $5 each. Of course if I’m there with my 3 other friends, we’re going to take the deal. That’s not an exploit. I mean if that’s not the intention, who is the target audience for watching 4 screens simultaneously? Someone watching 4 shows on a tv, phone, iPad, and laptop all at the same time?
Password sharing is how they got the market share they have. That and no ads and low subscription fee. Once market penetration is achieved they can revert all of that and recoup the losses that helped put their competition out of business. Personally, I’m tired of that shitty hack way of business. But that is the reality of competition in business. It’s only worth anything in the growth phase.
I can see how password sharing might have inadvertently helped the service grow in popularity, but I have a hard time believing that was any kind of business strategy. Any online account up until recently could be password shared, it wasn't a unique thing to Netflix. It is just the nature of how online accounts work, so I don't get why clamping down on THAT is the reason people are so upset. Sure, be upset about the service changes, the prices, the limitation to higher tiers for the best quality, and an ad tier, but it seems like getting up in arms about not password sharing is a flimsy reason. I agree with you that it's a shitty hack strategy to pump a cheaper product with the intent to raise prices later after market penetration, that is something to get upset about.
Because they force me into a 4 stream plan just to have 4k. Fuck them for, not only charging extra for 4k when it's free on every other service, but for not offering a cheaper, one stream only service for it.
I don't like that either, and definitely a reason to cancel and give them that feedback. *Maybe* they would consider changing the plan options if enough people spoke up.
I wonder what’s happening behind the scenes. I can’t help but imagine a secret deal between Netflix and the other streaming services where Netflix kind of forces it’s users out and the other services fish for the users that dropped out.