Netflix lost about 1 million users in Q2 of 2022, to introduce password-sharing plan in five countries- Technology News, Firstpost

Mehul DasJul 20, 2022 07:46:39 IST

Netflix said on Tuesday that it lost over 970,000 subscribers from April through June, However, there is a silver lining for the streaming giant. Netflix had estimated that it would lose about 2 million subscribers. 

Netflix averted the worst-case scenario projected by the company and has predicted that in the months to come, it would return to customer growth starting in the third quarter.

Netflix shares, which had fallen roughly 67 per cent earlier this year on concerns about future growth, rose 7 per cent in after-hours trade following Netflix’s revelations.

After years of red-hot growth, Netflix’s fortunes changed as rivals including Walt Disney Co, Warner Bros Discovery and Apple Inc invest heavily in their own streaming services. The reason why Netflix hasn’t lost as many subscribers as it had hoped for, may be down to the fact that they had announced that they would come up with a few cheaper, ad-supported subscriptions. 

A few weeks ago, Netlfix announced that they would partner up with Microsoft for their ad services, and would be launching the ad-supported tier sometime by the end of the year or in early 2023.

Meanwhile, Netflix has started tackling one of the major reasons why it had started losing subscribers – password sharing. Netflix is experimenting with a new method of payment from freeloaders. According to a report by Bloomberg, the company is introducing a feature that allows customers to legitimately enable access from a second home for an additional monthly fee in five Latin American nations.

Netflix will get an “add a home” feature which will be available in Argentina, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras starting in August.

Anyone in each additional home will then be able to stream Netflix on any device at a price that is less expensive than full standalone membership, according to the report.

This comes after the streaming service in March launched a feature called “add extra member” in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru that allows users to pay a monthly fee to grant access to Netflix to people outside of their households.

Customers with the Basic plan may add one additional home; those with the Standard plan may buy up to two additional homes, and subscribers to the Premium tier may buy up to three additional homes.  

Customers can add up to two Extra Member accounts for an additional $2-$3 (roughly Rs. 160 – Rs. 240) per month each in Netflix’s tests in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru.  Rather than the actual walls of a home, Netflix’s password-sharing policies apply to everyone in a customer’s household.