Coined in the mid-2010s the phrase “Netflix and Chill” has become a thing of the past in my household following Netflix’s end to password sharing. The password sharing crackdown was first tested in Latin America, followed by Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain.
After the rules came into effect in February of this year requiring users to select a primary location for Netflix streaming, my husband and I decided to part ways with the service rather than pay extra to be able to watch the service at our house as well as his parents, where we stay regularly when we visit the city.
Since the advent of streaming services has taken over what was once provided by cable, family members and friends have been negotiating which services they subscribe to and which ones they will gain access to through other friends and family members.
I get Crave, you get Amazon Prime Video, she gets Disney+, he gets Apple TV+, and then we all share. And on and on it goes – but things are likely to start changing.
Netflix reported losing nearly 1.2 million subscribers in the first two quarters of 2022, before rebounding and adding more than 2.4 million globally.
For a company that has ranked 115th on the Fortune 500 list, growth is everything. But there are only so many people willing to punch in their credit card numbers to access Netflix’s services.
So, what has Netflix’s solution been to continue to cushion its bottom line? Cut down on people who share accounts. This is after years of actually encouraging password sharing itself.
According to a survey by Statista, “Among Canadians over the age of 18 years, Netflix was the most used subscription video-on-demand service as of April 2022. Over 80 per cent of Canadians were using the platform.”
The number of those respondents who paid for their own account or shared is unclear.
After years of getting hooked on Netflix Originals, the streaming service is counting on people giving in and paying more for what they used to have for free. That is why I have chosen to protest the change with my wallet.
Denying my subscription to Netflix is the only way I can voice my disdain for changes that were solely introduced to perpetuate endless growth.
Since my subscription has ended, I realized that the amount of content still available is endless. However, when the spinoff series of Bridgerton is released in May, I will be heading to a friend's house with popcorn.
