Netflix’s ban on sharing accounts has been a bogeyman that has been going on for over a year for users. After various rumors, in recent months the measures have begun to become effective: first through some tests in Latin America, then with the extension of the stop on sharing accounts also to countries such as Canada and Spain. There deadline initially planned to ensure that the account sharing limitation measure also arrived in Italy, it was initially set for a period of time that went between the end of March and the end of June, as we also explained here, but now it seems that the times are getting longer. Let’s go see what’s happening and what we can expect in the coming months.
Netflix and the stop to account sharing: the latest updates
It now seems clear to everyone that the tightening on account sharing did not arrive in Italy in the month of March, nor in the month of April: therefore there has already been a postponement in this sense. Times could even go beyond the end of June with further postponement compared to initial expectations, but one thing is certain: Netflix has not given up on the operation. On the contrary. Here are the recent statements about the streaming platform, in the letter on the sidelines of the latest financial data:
“”We are pleased with the first quarter launch results in Canada, New Zealand, Spain and Portugal, reinforcing our confidence that we have chosen the right approach. As in Latin America, we are seeing subscription cancellations when we announce this news, which has an impact in the short term in terms of subscriber growth. But when borrower accounts start creating their own and existing members add “extra members” to their account, we see subscriptions and revenues grow. For example in Canada, which we believe is a great example to predict how the US will fare, our paid subscriber base is now larger than before the launch of paid sharing and revenue growth has accelerated to the point where it is now growing faster than in the United States.”
In essence: some damage in the short term, but benefits expected in the medium-long term. Some physiological waiting time more, but the first tests went well and therefore now Netflix will also introduce the new measure in the United States by the end of June 2023. Obviously the one relating to the United States is considered the decisive and definitive test: it is probable that the streaming platform in this period focuses on the launch of the new form of account limited to sharing within the household (here we have explained what exactly is meant by household) in the United States, being the largest market in which it is engaged , to then extend it to the rest of the missing countries (including Europe with the exception of Spain and Portugal, where the measure is already operational) in the following months. Therefore, the stop on sharing accounts in Italy could probably be postponed to around September 2023, once the procedures in the United States have been completed. And it is therefore possible that it will still be possible, in our parts, to share the account outside the household during the summer months. Much, in this sense, will depend on how the launch in the United States goes.
Netflix and the stop to account sharing: how much will it cost to share the account outside the household?
While waiting to find out the definitive launch date in Italy of the new form of account limited to sharing within the household, we remind you that from the moment in which the measure is operational, anyone who wants to continue sharing an account outside their own household, will be obliged to pay a surcharge. What might be the costs to continue sharing the account with a friend who is not part of our household, we have explained in detail here.