Over the past several years, consumers around the globe have been thrust into what has come to be known as the streaming era. In a time where movie rental stores like Blockbuster reigned supreme, a select group of individuals in the entertainment industry were looking to shake things up. That’s where the inception of companies such as Netflix and Hulu come in, both of whom were pioneers in the streaming space and are amongst the most important companies in all of entertainment today. But even when you’re at the top of the world like either of said companies, there is always room for improvement. That was made especially evident when news broke earlier this week that Netflix is cracking down even harder on account sharing amongst its subscribers, and the new restrictions may come off as borderline draconian to its customers.
For many years now, individuals have been sharing their accounts on streaming sites such as Netflix and Hulu with their friends and families to get their money’s worth from the streaming service in question. For years this has been taking place, but while it may not be anything new it is seemingly putting enough of a dent in Netflix’s pockets for the behemoth of a company to take notice. That is exactly why earlier this week new details regarding their new policies in the context of account sharing, and it’s obvious they mean business this time. In short, Netflix is seeking to limit the geographical distance by which accounts can be shared as they implement a new policy which requires users to log in to the Wi-Fi network directly associated with the account in question at least once every 31 days. It also seems that Netflix is likely to begin charging users a small fee in order to continue sharing their account with friends and family, which Netflix themselves accidentally made evident by prematurely updating their help section in select countries and disclosing the information. While all the details aren’t available quite yet, it is obvious Netflix is making a strong push here and subscribers could be in store for some changes as 2023 progresses.
For the better part of two decades now, Netflix has established themselves as one of the cornerstone companies of today’s entertainment industry. They were arguably the first platform to provide consumers with completely unfettered digital streaming, and their efforts have been repaid handsomely in response. However it is abundantly obvious that they are not happy with the current state of things and these new measures should seemingly get them to a better place in their eyes. How that will impact consumers though has yet to be seen, and subscribers should certainly keep their eyes peeled as this year progresses.
