Netflix’s popularity plunges

In the past two years during the pandemic, Netflix was in its prime. Nearly everyone was home streaming, but as things are opening back up, Netflix’s business is slowing down. Netflix is beginning to crack down on password sharing sometime in the near future. Their number of subscribers this year has decreased by 50%, and many assume that they’re trying to make up for it by taking back the money they’re losing through sharing passwords. For password tracking purposes, the firm will not use GPS data. It will instead rely on the same data it uses to deliver the service, such as device IDs, IP addresses, and information on logged-in devices. Netflix will be able to tell if credentials are being shared outside of a home in this way, according to the report. To even out their new policy, Netflix is planning to create two sub accounts for users to share with people outside of their households for only three dollars additional dollars, on top of their previous subscription. They started testing this plan earlier this year in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru, and will be initiated globally sometime this year. The question is, how do Netflix users feel about this?

To begin, some individuals aren’t on board with the new plan. Edison Intermediate School (EIS) seventh grade student Emma Simpson argued, “I don’t think it’s fair for Netflix to do this. I have my account on my T.V and computer. Will they charge me for both?” 

To add on, while there are many questions individuals have regarding the upcoming policy, eighth grade student Hailey Bekerman stated, “I don’t think Netflix should be doing this. I’ve signed into other people’s accounts before and it should only be charged once. Netflix will survive.”

The question is, can they survive? Shares of Netflix have gone down by 35% and Netflix has lost subscribers for the first time in a decade. This has made Netflix the worst performing stock of 2022. They also estimate that 30 million households in Canada and the United States are accessing Netflix through shared passwords. By initiating this new password sharing policy, Netflix guesses they could add another 10 to 20 million subscribers to their platform.

For example, Audrey Sewald, an EIS sixth grade student rationalized, “I don’t think it’s fair that you have to charge more money when it’s one account and you’re just sharing, but it’s your Netflix account and you shouldn’t share it with anyone else. I feel like people won’t like the idea of being charged for sharing passwords but Netflix is losing money, so it’s understandable.”

In addition, EIS Media Specialist Andrew Cusumano also understood Netflix’s perspective. “I think it depends who you’re sharing your login with. I think you should be able to share with your with your family members, maybe up to three logins.”

Evidently, everyone is waiting to see if this new password plan will make or break Netflix.