The sensible thing for Netflix to do would be to create a family plan, similar to the family plans that cell phone services use. I would happily put my father on a family plan so that he could share my account. I don’t mind paying a little more money to allow another family member to use the account I am paying for. That is reasonable. N…
The sensible thing for Netflix to do would be to create a family plan, similar to the family plans that cell phone services use. I would happily put my father on a family plan so that he could share my account. I don’t mind paying a little more money to allow another family member to use the account I am paying for. That is reasonable. Netflix, not recognizing that family members sharing an account is a different situation from two casual acquaintances sharing passwords is not reasonable.
Yeah, this is why I would *guess* that Netflix will opt for some sort of approved-device plan (so kids at college can keep watching, etc). But also: It's not like I had access to HBO in college when I wasn't at home! I had to pay for a cable/Internet sub in my apartment. It is not outrageous to expect Netflix to do something similar.
But I pay for four screens - why should I have to pay extra when a family member views on one of those screens, regardless of where that screen is? I don't think I should pay anything extra since I've already signed up for a subscription that reflects four family members.
Technically what you're paying for is household access; if those people don't actually live in the household, Netflix doesn't want them using a login. (This goes to on of my points in the newsletter: I think Netflix will see ARPU, average revenue per user, drop as people get rid of multi-screen plans and some of the people who have to sign up for their own plans get cheaper, possibly ad-supported, plans.)
I think there is no question that Netflix will see ARPU drop. What they are forgetting is the same thing that movie studios forgot for a while when trying to fight piracy: a person who truly values an item at $0 is not and will not ever be a paying customer. If the anti-piracy campaign makes things too inconvenient for the ACTUAL customers the revenue goes down, as some of those customers quit while no additional money is obtained from the pirates (who may stop pirating, but do not start paying).
The sensible thing for Netflix to do would be to create a family plan, similar to the family plans that cell phone services use. I would happily put my father on a family plan so that he could share my account. I don’t mind paying a little more money to allow another family member to use the account I am paying for. That is reasonable. Netflix, not recognizing that family members sharing an account is a different situation from two casual acquaintances sharing passwords is not reasonable.
Yeah, this is why I would *guess* that Netflix will opt for some sort of approved-device plan (so kids at college can keep watching, etc). But also: It's not like I had access to HBO in college when I wasn't at home! I had to pay for a cable/Internet sub in my apartment. It is not outrageous to expect Netflix to do something similar.
But I pay for four screens - why should I have to pay extra when a family member views on one of those screens, regardless of where that screen is? I don't think I should pay anything extra since I've already signed up for a subscription that reflects four family members.
Technically what you're paying for is household access; if those people don't actually live in the household, Netflix doesn't want them using a login. (This goes to on of my points in the newsletter: I think Netflix will see ARPU, average revenue per user, drop as people get rid of multi-screen plans and some of the people who have to sign up for their own plans get cheaper, possibly ad-supported, plans.)
I think there is no question that Netflix will see ARPU drop. What they are forgetting is the same thing that movie studios forgot for a while when trying to fight piracy: a person who truly values an item at $0 is not and will not ever be a paying customer. If the anti-piracy campaign makes things too inconvenient for the ACTUAL customers the revenue goes down, as some of those customers quit while no additional money is obtained from the pirates (who may stop pirating, but do not start paying).