Bear in mind that Antenna (the source of this info) has no access to internal Netflix metrics, only to opt-in consumer information. We won’t really know what’s going on with Netflix’s numbers until their next quarterly report.
This is a super important piece of the puzzle that no one seems to be talking about. It’s surface level at best
I wouldn’t be surprised if the kind of person who voluntarily participates in opt-in surveys like this has a different likelihood to get their own account in a situation like the Netflix password sharing crack-down.
I’m honestly sort of suspicious of this report. I wouldn’t be surprised if the information is misrepresented or outright fabricated.
I am not really that surprised. I think a lot of people use netflix and just didn’t get a sub, because why pay for something that is free. I think a lot of people used the same account then grew up, moved out, moved on and just kept using the same account. Now that they cannot, they are happy to pay for it. My wife and I have not been kicked off my parents account yet. I do not know how long it takes to kick in. But, once we do, we may subscribe again, but it is not a rush as we are watching a lot of disney plus at the moment.
Of course, I did figure that at least some folks would get their own, but the growth is much higher than I was expecting. It’s also a death knell of sorts that will start a feeding frenzy for other streaming services I think though. In a few years, it may not be an option for ANY service to share passwords.
Yeah, someone on Tumblr has pointed out that the data does not actually support the headline here. The spike actually started just before the crackdown and immediately dropped.
Almost as if they just started recording in earnest I wonder.
It coulr be misleading, but outright lying here wouldn’t be particularly useful since they have a duty to report truthfully on their finicial results.
E: nvm I just realized the source isn’t Netflix themselves.
I’m about to the point where I’m just going to go back to pirating. The value of streaming services was in their convenience. I was willing to pay money for that, but the more fragmented and complicated all of it gets, when I can just pay for 1 VPN and go to a site and click a few links…
Piracy can be pretty convenient too. There are some services that are a kind of a hassle to set up, but work really well once everything is configured. You can have one docker container running qbittorrent and set up so it’s only able to access the Internet through VPN, other containers running sonarr/radarr etc to automate the downloading, and one runing plex to organize and stream all the content.
I subscribe to several streaming services because the people who work on and create this content deserve to be paid, but often will watch something on my plex server rather than through the streaming site because it’s just more convenient. Also it’s nice to have local copies of that media in case it ever gets removed from the streamer in the future.
That’s what I’ve got too. Family and friends are slowly catching on the more I talk about it haha. Got a few friends and my whole family on my Plex server now. It’s a fun side project/hobby too imo
The recent loss of Rarbg has been pretty bad for Piracy community. Big shuffles on the internet lately.
Plex + Sonarr/Radarr and you won’t need Netflix anymore ;)
Jellyfin if you don’t want to pay at all
That’s what I moved over to a few months ago, I will say…it was a challenge to set up but it’s been fantastic so far. Have you by any chance automated downloads via trakt TV lists?
Yeah! I also use Overseer to manage library requests and automate those downloads.
Hot take but I think ultimately this will work out for them. Nobody is going to cancel their sub over this, because whoever is paying isn’t losing anything.
The people who lose access to the account might not sign up, but it doesn’t exactly hurt Netflix if they don’t, they weren’t paying anyway.
I canceled mine at the beginning of the year. For me it represented a 5x increase in the cost of the platform. But I agree overall, it’s probably a slight positive for them in the short term (I’m skeptical its worth losing mindshare in the long run).
Removed by mod
The other streaming services will undoubtly follow this trend now that Netflix has shown it works.
I think there will be an initial spike of signups, but over the long term the cancellations may outweigh the signups and subscriptions could decrease. Especially if they don’t have another hit show like Stranger Things or Squid Game etc.
Good luck getting one soon as long as they refuse to fairly negotiate with the WGA. SAG-AFTRA already has a strike authorisation so we may be seeing that soon too, depending on how their closed-door negotiations go this week.
No idea how accurate this report is. Either way people online tend to be a vocal minority. The vast majority of people using Netflix either aren’t on Reddit or other discussion forums, or are simply lurkers who never comment. I find that people that do comment tend to be doom and gloom when it comes to these sort of things. That applies to me too, as I certainly won’t buy Netflix due to their content.
But Netflix is large enough that it will probably be fine for quite some time. Even so I do think streaming is declining rapidly due to too many services and studies have shown that people do pirate more when accessing content becomes tedious. It’s all a matter of comfort.
It is frankly insane how much attention those three paragraphs from a random outlet have garnered. The data they release is sparse, with little context, and largely obscure. It reads like the abstract of a term paper that used questionable statistics to validate a preconceived point. I would not be surprised to find out that they had incentive to publish something that makes Netflix’s decision look successful to investors. But even if you trust their numbers, all they are saying is that Netflix had more signups than usual on two days. It doesn’t mean anything.
Yeah, not surprising tbh. They tested the change in smaller countries like NZ first, which allowed them to determine if it was worth doing the same elsewhere.
Password sharing is really common, but I don’t think enough people realise - if they give a shit about what they use and where it comes from, they’re the minority. That goes for almost any service, not just streaming. The people willing to change their habits to protest are always going to be less than the entrenched people who can be pushed, inch by inch.
Most Netflix users just want something to watch with minimal effort and without having to try or think about it. So if the password doesn’t work, they shrug, they accept it, they make their own account, and their routines stay the same. In fact I’m willing to be that of the new Netflix users, a majority of them are probably also subscribed to at least one other streaming service, too.
Convenience is a commodity, and users have different price points.
I only consume content the way God intended : Torrent
Praise be
Absolutely the best way of consuming content, if you have access to the better trackers.
hardly use Netflix, will of a movie we wanna watch is available on it (rare) and it’s my parents’ anyways so we’re gonna get locked out sooner or later. Glad I just decided to build a NAS to make the whole torrenting > media server pipeline easier and with plenty of space
I’m skeptical. If this is indeed true, I believe it will be short lived. The simple reason is that the content is not worth the cost. It worked better when people shared their passwords maybe? I gave up my subscription long before they announced these changes because the content, IMO, mostly sucks.
There’s a reason to be skeptical. The data is for 2 days
So much for the great exodus that was predicted.
I’ve looked into it and the data is for 2 days. It might be an outlier…
Savvy tech users consistently underestimate how much hostile corporate behavior the general population is willing to put up with.
But then I couldn’t watch Netflix!!
When was the last time you actually did watch Netflix, and even then how often have you watched it?
…but I need to watch Netflix
I thought that Netflix would be caught out by the number of people turning to piracy, but I guess there’s also a lot of older people who have to setup their own account now that they can’t use a relative’s. Or just get the add on for the relative’s existing sub.
I cancelled my Netflix subscription, but it looks like I might need to set one up for my mum and my nan instead :/
Older people are an obvious demographic that won’t jump ship, but don’t turn a blind eye to the younger generation. It isn’t boomers who throw $70+ at video games on a constant basis. The threshold for a convenience/value ratio seems very low for a lot of people.
As an unrelated and statistically insignificant anecdote, the two biggest pirates I know are both actual literal boomers.
That’s true about young people tolerating it.
I’ve got a Sonarr/Plex setup that works really well for me, but it was a pain to get it all set up initially and I think even computer literate people would struggle.
You’re absolutely right.
I built my own computer, been using PCs since I was two years old, I know how to use CLIs and I already run Plex. But Sonarr was such a fucking hassle to set it up that I got halfway through the set up and gave up.
The general consumer is an idiot. It’s basic psychology. Rewarding behavior increases it’s likelihood. Soon other streaming services will follow.
I have a tendency to think this way when I see this kind of disappointing news, but I think it’s a good idea to resist the temptation. Assuming everyone that chooses this particular streaming service is an idiot because of something that for me is an issue but for them either doesn’t matter or more likely still, isn’t even on their radar, well I guess it just helps reinforce a distorted world view that assumes everyone is or should be like me and the people I talk to online.
Still though, I was definitely hoping this would bite them in the arse and it’s a shame to see them come out of this smelling like roses somehow.
BuT tHe FrEe MaRkEt WiLl HoLd BuSiNeSsEs AcCoUnTaBlE!
Oh the late stage capital slogan is now “what the market will bear”
