The Great Netflix Password Crackdown is On Us

Netflix have finally come to the table with more details about the much-debated password sharing crackdown. A move that resulted in a lot of poor press for them, converting to paid sharing at a time when they’ve already been buffeted by poor publicity sounds pig-headed at best- but luckily we have Brandon Blake from Blake & Wang P.A to give the entertainment attorney’s perspective on the matter.

Quarter 2 Rollout

The rollout will begin for the US market as of the second quarter. However, we have also seen them trial the password crackdown in Latin America from January this year, with considerable momentum through February as the replacement paid sharing option became available. At the moment, this plan is available in New Zealand, Spain, Canada, and Portugal. It allows for 2 active users outside the primary user’s home for a price between 3.99-5.99 Euros, or $7.99 CAD or NZD. What will the domestic price be? We’ve yet to find out- and you’d think they might have wanted better clarity on that matter with the rollout coming fast. All we know is that pricing, “will be higher in more affluent countries.” Fair? Possibly. Good publicity? We aren’t so sure! While the crackdown is, at the heart, merely an attempt to squeeze more profitability out of the same few subscribers, stating it so openly does leave a bit of a bad taste.

Pleased With Results

While the removal of a ‘service’ they once actively encouraged was always going to be problematic publicity-wise, especially with the oddly combative and blame-heavy spin they’ve put on it to the public, hey seem content with the results of the Q1 rollout to date. Acquisitions and revenue have gone up with the ‘extra member’ accounts (naturally) for the Latin American area, now growing faster than the US.

Is that really ‘growth’, however? Debatable, but Wall Street seems to like it, and also believe the paid sharing option will work in tandem with their new ad-supported tier to boost numbers. For now, we can simply wait and see what happens as more territories make the change.