But from when?
Netflix doesn’t want its users to share accounts
Netflix wants to prevent users from different households from sharing a subscription in the future. However, it is not known when the measure will actually be implemented in Switzerland.
Published: 22 minutes ago
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Many users share a Netflix account.
Milena KalinEditor Economics
Hardly anyone has a Netflix account just for their own use. After all, the most expensive subscription allows four people to stream at the same time. The passwords are therefore cheerfully shared with each other, the accesses used by different households.
Netflix wants to put an end to that. The streaming service from the USA is fed up with free riders. He estimates that there are around 100 million free users in addition to the around 223 million paying subscribers worldwide. As a result, the company loses billions of dollars.
First it was said that Netflix wanted to take tougher action from the beginning of 2023. It is not yet known when the time will actually come: “There is still no schedule for the rollout in Europe,” said a Netflix spokesman when asked by Blick. The company is already testing various implementation solutions in Latin America.
The Swiss stream the most via Netflix
According to the IGEM Digimonitor 2022, Netflix is by far the most used streaming service in Switzerland. Over 3 million users watch Netflix at home – not counting free riders.
For comparison: Only YouTube has more viewers from Switzerland – a total of 4.5 million! Play Suisse, SRG’s Swiss streaming service, has the second most users at 1.1 million. Disney+ follows with 1.0 million viewers.
According to the IGEM Digimonitor 2022, Netflix is by far the most used streaming service in Switzerland. Over 3 million users watch Netflix at home – not counting free riders.
For comparison: Only YouTube has more viewers from Switzerland – a total of 4.5 million! Play Suisse, SRG’s Swiss streaming service, has the second most users at 1.1 million. Disney+ follows with 1.0 million viewers.
Various options for free riders
Netflix can be streamed from anywhere. So how does the company plan to ensure that all subscribers belong to the same household?
So far, there are two options for free riders: either they create their own account – the cheapest subscription in Switzerland currently costs CHF 11.90 per month. Or they register as an additional member in an existing account. For a surcharge, people outside of the same household should also be able to use the account.
Planned subscription with advertising
There could also be a cheaper subscription soon. Netflix has already launched a monthly subscription for 4.99 euros in Germany. This is so cheap that you also have to watch ads. It is not yet known if and when the subscription will come to Switzerland. But you can probably assume that – even if the subscription will probably be more expensive than in Germany.
In the first half of 2022 alone, Netflix lost over a million customers. So far, that didn’t seem to bother the streaming service. In the third quarter of 2022 alone, Netflix posted a profit of $1.4 billion.