Netflix has been testing a way to make sharing a Netflix account more expensive for some time now. Now the streaming service giant also seems to have plans in the short term for a cheaper subscription, in which Netflix contains advertisements.
Netflix subscription with ads
Currently it is very easy to share your Netflix account with family and friends. Soon this will only be possible if you pay an extra surcharge. In Chile, Costa Rica and Peru, among others, you pay an additional fee of $2.99 ​​dollars if you share your Netflix account outside your own household.
In the Netherlands we will most likely also receive these extra costs – although it is not yet known when. To prevent Netflix from scaring its subscribers away, the company wants to introduce a cheaper subscription with ads. Reed Hastings (the CEO of Netflix) said he wanted to explore the possibilities for such a subscription.
Cheaper subscription
Internal communication from Netflix would now show that this cheap subscription is already coming in the short term: somewhere in the last three months of 2022. The New York Times†The message would also suggest that the additional costs for sharing a Netflix account will start during that same period.
In the internal memo, Netflix also points out that – apart from Apple TV+ – every major streaming platform offers a subscription form with advertisements. These include Hulu, HBO Max and Peacock. They are able to maintain their strong brand identity despite the commercials, Netflix is ​​said to have said.
Fewer subscribers
The subscription model with advertisements is striking, because Netflix has said for a long time that it does not see anything in this model. However, Netflix – partly due to the cutthroat competition – is finding it increasingly difficult to grow.
In fact, it lost 200,000 subscribers in the last quarter, and it was the first time since 2011 that the number of subscribers was less than the quarter before. With a cheaper subscription and the crackdown on account sharing, the company hopes to find its way back up.
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