Amid a campaign to end massive account sharing, Netflix fears a large chunk of its subscribers will leave its streaming service. And to keep its lovers warm, the platform offers these tempting discounts.
End of account sharing, loss of subscribers in sight, Netflix is in a bind
After years of sharing their Netflix accounts with family, friends or acquaintances, subscribers must now change their minds unless they pay an excess. The phenomenon is practiced by 100 million users worldwide. Numbers that led the platform to implement a policy to stop sharing on a large scale, in order to get more profits but also to win back many subscribers. However, the opposite effect is likely to occur.
The system is already tested in several countries, notably in Canada, New Zealand or Portugal, and initial feedback suggests that many internet users are threatening to unsubscribe. And if the company believes that the long-term benefits will be manifested in an “improvement in overall income”, others, on the contrary, predict a decline in the economic model.
A discount that does not affect everyone
In any case, the platform doesn’t seem ready to lose its followers since it just announced it the implementation of a discount of up to 50% in some cases and certain countries. Unfortunately, this flirtation isn’t for everyone. The big beneficiaries of the survey are the Latin American countries.
On February 13th, people in this part of the world received the news: “The best entertainment now has a lower monthly price. Your monthly fee will be deducted to $10.99 on your next billing date beginning February 13, 2023.” Here are the affected countries and their prices:
Bolivia, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Paraguay
- Base: $3.99 (was $7.99)
- Standard: $5.99 (instead of $10.99)
- Premium: $7.99 (instead of $13.99)
El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Ecuador and Guatemala
- Base: $4.99 (was $7.99)
- Standard: $7.99 (instead of $10.99)
- Premium: $10.99 (instead of $13.99)
Panama
- Base: $4.99 (was $8.99)
- Standard: $8.99 (instead of $12.99)
- Premium: $12.99 (instead of $15.99)
Not all countries in the region are in the same boat, however, as users from countries like Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru have previously served as guinea pigs, requiring them to pay a surcharge if Netflix detects someone outside the household using the has account.
For the moment, France is not subject to this new pricingno precise date yet regarding this new drastic measure in the face of shared accounts, except at the moment of this first quarter of 2023. Latin America therefore seems to be the guinea pig of this pricing policy.
Faced with increasingly fierce competition in terms of both content and price, Netflix is being forced to make concrete decisions in order not to collapse. As a reminder, Amazon Prime Video has struck a blow in this “streaming war” by restoring part of the HBO catalogue. In addition, the platform now has totemic series, such as the Rings of Power, The Last of Us or The Boys. For its part, Disney+ is expected with Season 3 of The Mandalorian (March 1).