Netflix could lose up to 15 million users due to new extra charges
A survey revealed that only 8% of the platform’s users are willing to purchase their own subscription after the new policy against password sharing.
A survey revealed that only 8% of Netflix users are willing to pay for their own subscription after the new “extra member” policy, aimed at combating the use of shared passwords, comes into effect.
The impact of Netflix’s new policies could be uncertain, while only 8% of current users plan to purchase their own subscription, this would represent a growth of 1.7 million new users.
There’s not much content there for us to enjoy, aside from Stranger Things. Once it ends, we’ll probably cancel
40-year-old user interviewed by pollster.
The rest of the respondents noted that they will continue to try to keep using other people’s accounts while the new restriction goes into full effect.
Potential User Exodus: 23% Willing to Cancel Netflix Subscription | Impact of New Rules on Subscriber Base
However, as many as 23% of users surveyed by CordCutting said they would be willing to cancel their subscription because of the new rules. This would equate to a drop of about 15.2 million users.
Netflix is the subscription service with the most “freeloaders,” along with Disney, the report notes . In both cases, 84% of users are “legitimate” subscribers, the survey notes. The rest (16%) use the service with a shared account for which they do not pay.
The reduction in revenue, CordCutting estimates, is equivalent to $2.3 billion from password sharing alone.
The survey covers only the U.S. public, however, a negative response, at least in the short term, is possible given the trends observed in other countries. In the first quarter of the year, Netflix lost one million customers in Spain due to the same policy that charges more for password sharing.
Most Netflix defectors are concentrated in the younger audience. CordCutting, however, does not estimate the drop in subscriptions to be 15 million, “giving up access to one of the largest streaming platforms may be more difficult than some users think, as Netflix offers a wealth of original content.”