Netflix has initially started the announced action against the sharing of access data in Europe in Spain and Portugal. The video streaming giant estimates that around 100 million households worldwide are free-riding on family and friends’ accounts. The service wants additional money from them.
Customers with standard and premium accounts should now be able to pay for up to two other people who do not live with them under the same roof.
With the launch in Portugal and Spain, it is becoming apparent that the prices will vary in different European countries. In Portugal it is 3.99 euros per month per person added, in Spain 5.99 euros.
Netflix had long tolerated the sharing of credentials. In the video streaming business, there is now an increased focus on profitability in general, after many providers have been chasing more users for years.
Among other things, Netflix rival Disney has just announced cuts in spending on the production of films and series.
A central question in taking action against account sharing will be whether Netflix can keep the affected users or whether they simply forego the service.
Netflix is hoping for the pull of its exclusive content. At the same time, the service introduced a cheaper tariff with advertising.
So far, according to the company, new users have made use of it and not existing customers who switched from more expensive subscriptions. (dpa)
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