Netflix to charge users for sharing account with others; to introduce ad-supported version

The streaming platform reported that it lost 200,000 subscribers in less than 100 days for the first time in a decade.

Netflix is without a doubt one of the most popular streaming platforms around the world. The company recently announced that it has lost over 200,000 subscribers in less than 100 days. The streaming giant also revealed that it is planning to have its users pay for sharing accounts with others.

At the first-quarter earnings call, Netflix said that it will expand its tests in charging users a higher price if they are engaged in sharing their account with people outside their household. The company confirmed that it will need to carry out tests for a year to get things right with regard to how much extra to charge.

Netflix had started testing for the same back in March, in markets such as Chile, Costa Rica and Peru. They now plan to take the system to other international markets such as the United States of America in a year’s time.

“Frankly, we’ve been working on this for about almost two years… a little over a year ago, we started doing some light test launches that…informed our thinking and helped us build the mechanisms that we’re deploying now,” said Netflix Chief Product Officer Greg Peters, as reported by TechCrunch.

Netflix revealed that 100 million households around the world are using the platform by account sharing, with 30 million of these users in the U.S and Canada. The company is expecting to strike a balance between users being able to share accounts and the company making a revenue out of it with the new system.

Netflix is also planning to launch a low-cost ad-supported version of the platform. This would give users who are advertisement tolerant and prefer a low-cost subscription a chance to get what they want.

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