I feel like the moral outrage over this is a little overblown. Reading the terms it seems clear that Netflix is targeting people who are blatantly account sharing. It makes sense to worry that this will inconvenience people who have non-typical lifestyles though.
Similarly, saying this is a bad business move seems without any evidence seems rash. I don't think anyone at Netflix particularly _wants_ to implement this so my guess is that they have some pretty compelling evidence for why this makes sense.
Anecdotally, most people I know are sharing the majority of streaming accounts with multiple people.
- one of the things you pay for in your netflix tier is the number of "screens" - 4 screens = 4 simaltaneous streams. Many people think the screens are theirs to use how they see fit
- netflix used to _encourage_ password sharing[0]
- and of course, the number one rule of the internet: never charge for what you used to offer for free
I've seen that tweet before and I think it's a bit ridiculous to take a cheeky line from a marketing person to represent a perpetual promise by the company.
I don't think there's any possible check for "blatantly account sharing". Whether there is a single account being passed around among a dozen friends, a parent sharing an account with their kid in college, a husband and wife using an account on their different business trips or whatever else, it's all the same to Netflix.
I think companies can charge what they want for content and people are able to not use the service if they don’t like the price. So I think the moral outrage is ridiculous.
But, like you suggested, my house has access to 6 steaming services, all shared with other people, which leaves our monthly outlay at about $25. That’s a reasonable price to pay for me, and if I stop being able to share I will start to make some choices about my subscriptions. I wonder how this ends for Netflix, cashflow wise. They definitely aren’t worth the $20/m they’re asking, especially because by comparison that’s what I pay for the rest combined. In terms of content I actually want to watch they’re probably only about 4th best.
Similarly, saying this is a bad business move seems without any evidence seems rash. I don't think anyone at Netflix particularly _wants_ to implement this so my guess is that they have some pretty compelling evidence for why this makes sense.
Anecdotally, most people I know are sharing the majority of streaming accounts with multiple people.