Netflix password-sharing warning (Shutterstock photo by Wesley Foulds)
By ERIK GRUENWEDEL
Source: www.mediaplaynews.com, May 2023
Netflix has begun cracking down on North American subscribers sharing their account passwords with non-members. New data from Samba TV found that the practice has increased slightly, affecting about 51% of all SVOD subscriptions — based on a commissioned HarrisX survey of 2,500 U.S. respondents from March 23-27.
Samba said 49% and 48% of Netflix and Disney+ subs, respectively, share their subscription with someone else, with most sharing their account with family members.
Of those subscribed to at least one platform, 60% share their password with someone else. This includes 79% of Gen Z and 74% of Millennials, compared to 52% of Gen X and 38% of Baby Boomers.
About 57% share with one-to-two people. Millennials are more likely to share with more people. The demo is also most likely to share with at least three people (34%, compared to 25% of all people who share subscriptions).
About 70% of respondents who share and borrow access to streaming services say that Netflix is a platform they are most likely to share with others.
With Netflix imposing a $7.99 monthly fee on subscribers sharing their account, more than 40% of survey respondents said they would be willing to pay more to share their account with someone outside of their home.
Of those who would be willing to pay to share their account, 41% would pay up to $10 per month and an additional 10% would pay up to $15, accounting for just about half of those who would be willing to pay extra. Males and Millennials are most likely to be willing to pay more.
On the flipside, password crackdown may spur cancellations of the service, particularly among younger demographics like Gen Z, according to Samba.
About 37% of current Netflix subscribers would cancel their account if they could no longer share their password with people outside their home. The percentage goes up as the user age goes down. About 52% of Gen Z and 51% of Millennials would cancel their account, but only around a quarter of Gen X and Baby Boomers would do so.
Additionally, of those who currently use someone else’s Netflix account, 64% would subscribe to Netflix if they could no longer use someone else’s password (39% to an ad-supported tier and 25% to an ad-free tier). 76% of Millennials and 75% of males would subscribe, compared to only 55% of females.
“The crackdown on password sharing has the potential to hasten the growth of Netflix’s ad-supported tier as sharers are gently forced to migrate to their own accounts,” Samba TV CEO Ashwin Navin said in a statement.
The reports found that among non-subs using someone else’s Netflix account, almost 40% would transition toward the cheaper monthly subscription with ads, while only a quarter may sign up for their own ad-free experience.
“There’s also an opportunity for Netflix to charge for these additional users. Implementing this new fee could quickly grow Netflix’s subscriber revenue,” Navin said.
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