The independent comparison site Pricewise has investigated the exchange of login data of video streaming services. This shows, among other things, that many young people frequently exchange their account details.
Share Netflix Account Information
Streaming giant Netflix has been suffering from this for years, the mutual sharing of login data, often sharing the costs among themselves. Netflix officially does not allow this and, as a result, it misses revenue. In 2019, the company already started analyzing user data. This analysis found that many subscribers share their login credentials with people who are not part of the household. Our AW Poll showed that Androidworld readers mainly share their Netflix data within their own household.
Pricewise has researched the extent to which people share their streaming service credentials. These are the main results of the study:
- 34% of Dutch streamers are watching on someone else’s account.
- 28% of streamers share their login details with others so that they can also use the service.
- In particular, the younger generations, gen Z and millennials frequently exchange the login details of accounts.
In 2020, the comparison site also researched this phenomenon and it turned out that “28% still do not pay for services such as Netflix, Disney+ and Videoland: they watched for free on someone else’s account.”
Jeroen Snellen, telecom expert at Pricewise, it is understandable that people exchange their login details: “Almost all the different providers have a piece of popular content. If you want to use all these services, there is a considerable price tag attached to it. If you choose the cheapest subscription for the three most popular streaming services, it will quickly cost you between 20 and 25 euros per month.” According to Snellen, it is therefore quite logical that consumers want to keep the subscription costs somewhat within limits. Mutual price agreements as mentioned above can then reduce those costs.
Ways to tackle account sharing
Netflix is said to have started a test last year that should tackle account sharing. Some streamers got the following message: ‘Start your own Netflix today for free. If you don’t live with the owner of this account, you’ll need your own account to keep watching.’ This could be a customer-friendly limitation that Netflix talked about earlier. It is of course very important for Netflix that they do not put bad blood among their subscribers. After all, the competition is fierce. Another possible way is to limit the number of IP addresses that can be used.
Young people watch less and less ‘old-fashioned TV’
The research also shows that the younger generations have less and less need for the old-fashioned way of watching TV: “They (13%) more often than older generations (5%) only buy an internet package.” The older generations still prefer a package with internet, TV and calling. 23% of the Dutch do not even use streaming services at all. These are mainly baby boomers (42%).
According to Snellen, this way the elderly remain faithful to the original linear TV viewing, but he also sees differences: “In our comparator we also see a clear difference between these age groups, with the elderly more often opting for a subscription in combination with television. This group has traditionally been more accustomed to watching television in this way. The television subscription and to a lesser extent the fixed telephony subscription are simply part of it. This is becoming less and less true for the younger generation.”
Time for a new AW Poll about sharing account information with family and friends! So you can vote tonight. For now: do you find these numbers striking or did you expect it? Let us know in the comments below this article.
– Thanks for information from Androidworld. Source