uh huh! haha I also got an email from them talking up the account level I have ...talking about how it has upgraded sound or some shit. They're totally trying to prep us for when they make changes
I'm really having a hard time understanding the hate toward Netflix over their attempt to cut down on account sharing, nor can I really understand the justifications of account sharing outside of the ToS.
I think the problem is that Netflix let it go in the beginning because it got them more people watching. Bigger numbers = bigger potential profits. Now they're taking that away to cut costs and everyone who took advantage of it is understandably upset.
Yes, it was a "feature" and people are loathe to give it up. Also, I'm sure there's lots of people sharing with friends or whatever, and that's the stuff Netflix wants to stop, but meanwhile they are suggesting that they will create a hassle for anyone who doesn't use Netflix exclusively at home, which is most people, I would think.
Everyone in my household uses it when away from the house (at work on break, and in my case, during infusions for my meds). But I guess we can all log in while we're home. It would have been more of a problem when the kids were away at school.
Philosophically, it's an issue because it's all about squeezing out more profits. They had a crazy couple of years, money wise, when we were all stuck at home, and shareholder profits demand that they figure out how to keep making that much money when there are less people glued to their devices for most of the day. Subscribers are angry about any change
they reached peak potential, and it's all down hill from here (unless some other disaster has us stuck at home for a year). But they spent money like those subs were always going to be there. It's a bad system and bad decisions and the remaining subscribers don't want to be left holding the bag.
They should have done like YNAB did. They knew people were sharing so they just said, "Yay, spread the love for our company! We made it so five households can share one password, here is how!" and they got so much good press from that and solidified their customer base.
I share my netflix password. Well, it's more like I pay for Netflix that my mom and niece watch together all the time, and once in a blue moon, I also watch something on it from my house.
Renee Harvy
: Cory Doctorow coined a new term for exactly that: "enshittification". Pluralistic: Tiktok’s enshittification (21 Jan 2023)... "Here is how platforms die: first, they are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, they die."
They die much more quickly by giving their service away for free indefinitely. I haven't seen anything that justifies people being upset about having to pay for a service that was given away for free during its growth phase.
dkronfeld
: There's multiple issues here. First, let's say that they HAVE to change their model, fine, but figure out a way to acknowledge the change so it softens the blow a bit. Be FAIR about the change too. Also, most streaming services allow multiple people to use the same account and charge the same or LESS than Netflix.
In fact, I can't think of one that I have that doesn't. Apple+, Amazon Prime, HBO Max, Peacock - all allow something like 4 or so accounts. I'm not for an indefinite number or anything here.
I think I'd feel differently about it if the tone from the jump had been set a certain way. I already pay for the "premium" account which is really just me paying for 4 streams because I KNEW I'd be sharing it with other people. So I already pay an elevated cost for that plan as it is. I'm sorry that their bad business choices or practices mean they didn't
have a better cost model or something. But if they had initially said "hey if you want to share accounts, we're offering this program at x elevated cost, enjoy" ...I would have evaluated that cost to return for myself, and made my choice.
I could add that the new offerings, and the old catalog are not quite as great as they were in the past either. But ultimately, I think it's just a final nail situation. So Netflix will go into my rotational pile instead of my steady subscription pile.
My husband, MIL, BIL, and I all share accounts. We don't live together but we're all family and I think it's stupid we would have to physically be in the same location. Not to mention, people want to use their account when they travel, some want to use it when they work, etc.
Another thing, I don't have the spoons to look it up, but last I heard, their numbers were fine, the issue was they weren't GROWING. Like, um, saturated market maybe? competition? What's the bullshit with growing constantly too? To me, that's one of those capitalism f'ng up stuff things. Constant growth is a shitty goal.
Let's not forget that we were paying $9.99 just a few years ago there have been several price hikes in a really short period of time. I now pay $19.99 for 4 streams. I used Netflix at my mom's when I wa living there during the week, I have used it when I was in Europe on vacation, my husband uses it when driving across country, my sister also uses it.
Netflix is the most expensive of all my services, they never offer deals or black friday specials. All my other channels consistently offer discounts. I got Starz for $40 for a year, Hulu Disney bunle is $6 a month, even HBO will give you a discount for a couple of months.
Unless I get a great deal like Starz offered, I rotate my services. The only reason I don't rotate Netflix is because of family. If they implement this, I have no reason to pay for 4 streams or keep it year round.
That's how I see it, too. My mom is 72 and I do it as a favor to her, plus I use it for one show, one ep a week. Different houses, but within the four streams, never more than 4 hours a week in total. Amz is $8, Hulu AND Disney are a package for me for $5.33, and Netflix is $16.54. If they get on me because sometimes we use the account from here, we're done.
Yeah, I mean I get that maybe my adult son should get his own account now that he's on his own and buying a house, but my youngest son is in college and is only home every few months. Also, I like to use it on trips or at work occasionally.
That's exactly it for me too. I don't even really watch Netflix enough anymore to justify the subscription much less the 4 streams one. I had it at originally because I shared a home with my mom and brother and for a short period a cousin too. So we all used it. One of those people is dead and the other two rarely use it anymore at all
And so if anything Netflix should have kept their head down because I can promise we haven't utilized four streams worth of service in years and years but that still got my money every month.
Pluralistic: Tiktok’s enshittification (21 Jan 2023)...
"Here is how platforms die: first, they are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, they die."