Netflix’s long-awaited crackdown on password sharing is finally coming to the U.S., the streamer said on Tuesday.
Netflix originally planned to roll out “paid sharing” in the U.S. during the first quarter of 2023. However, Netflix now says it’ll begin rolling out that change — an update designed to convert account-sharers into paying users — by June 30, 2023.
The update is not limited to the U.S., the streamer added: “We are planning on a broad rollout, including in the US, in Q2.”
Netflix’s quest to boost revenues by curbing password sharing kicked off earlier this year in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain. In these countries, Netflix requires paying users to set a “primary location” for their account. Going forward, if someone they don’t live with uses their account, Netflix alerts them to “buy an extra member.” The company said it will allow up to two extra members per account, and its fee varies by country; for example, it’s CAD $7.99 in Canada and €3.99 in Portugal.
Netflix has floated this plan for years, and on Tuesday, the company told investors that it thinks the change “will result in a better outcome for both our members and our business.” The streaming giant has recently chalked the change up as an opportunity to clarify “confusion about when and how you can share Netflix,” but make no mistake, this is a crackdown.
“We see a cancel reaction in each market when we announce the news, which impacts near term member growth,” Netflix said in its first-quarter 2023 earnings report. “But as borrowers start to activate their own accounts and existing members add ‘extra member’ accounts, we see increased acquisition and revenue.”
