Netflix made a mistake, but it doesn't make it right

People love obtaining things for free, and this is especially true online. Unpaid news. no cost music gratis porn. liberated status updates. free pictures And free movies, of course. With more than 100 million "households" sharing accounts, Netflix's initial sin of enabling account sharing without restriction is what has led to the company's current state. (For comparison, the business claimed that as of the end of 2022, it had 230.75 million paid members.) In its quarterly letter to shareholders, Netflix stated that the current situation "undermines our long-term ability to invest in and improve Netflix, as well as develop our business." Photo Credit: ABC Sharing accounts isn't always a bad idea in and of itself. In many respects, that makes sense, and the implicit endorsement helped establish Netflix as the industry pioneer in video-on-demand streaming that it is today. There are many edge cases that are reasonable because, after all, "families" and "households" have many definitions. It might be a kid whose parents don't live together. Or a young person who is just starting college. Or a grownup who splits their time between two homes. However, 100 million households that aren't paying for Netflix represent actual money that Netflix can't ignore any longer and shouldn't. Accordingly, Netflix "carefully explored several options for users who wish to share their account to pay a bit extra" to do so. Midway through 2022, the plan was introduced in eight nations in Latin America, but after just three months, it was reduced to just three: Chile, Peru, and Costa Rica. It was always going to be difficult to communicate. However, Netflix's poor communication made the initial issue—removal of a once-free service—worse. By the end of March 2023, it would "start rolling out paid sharing more generally" and issue a warning to the rest of the world. Though it didn't specify how. Because the internet thrives on indignation, this mismatch allowed bloggers trying to profit from the uncertainty when Netflix accidentally shared with the rest of the globe the help pages for the paid account sharing programs in Chile, Peru, and Costa Rica to fill the void. Netflix must make it clear how it intends to deal with the more than 100 million "households" that use the service but do not pay for it. Will everything be somewhat connected to your home network, as in Chile, Peru, and Costa Rica? or another thing? Will your home network really stop devices from the outside? Or will you be able to utilize what essentially amounts to two-factor authentication to confirm that those devices are actually a part of your "household"? Photo Credit: Know Your Meme And Netflix needs to admit that no plan will be equitable for everyone. It simply cannot account for all potential factors. Netflix must, however, also be ready for the fallout. This is a fairly enormous Band-Aid that is being removed painfully slowly for a startlingly large number of "households." Again, we don't yet know what that term means at Netflix, so we keep using quotation marks around it. We do, however, know one thing: Netflix is coming for at least part of the money it has been leaving on the table for years. Many people will find it difficult to accept that. How hard will people choke is the question. Netflix must think that a greater number of people will sign up for a complete account or pay more for an additional household than will actually discontinue the service.