Its finally arrived, Netflix has rolled out its password sharing controls across Australia. Now, if you want to share your account with someone outside of your household, you will need to pay an extra $7.99 per person.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-25/netflix-password-shar…
Interested to know what other ozbargainers are going to be doing.
Apparently "Love is sharing a password" does not apply to grandparents =(
Sorry grandpa. 8 dollars is too much
All right son.
Grandpa changes will silently
Compost them?
Im ultimately going to cancel. I will most likely drop in and out on the lowest ad supported tier. In the end with the 2 people i shared with, Netflix will actually make less per month than what they were. Plus 2 of us will only switch it on a few times a year. So they have ultimately lost out on more money by imposing password sharing restrictions. Ultimately they will never release data on what impact this has but it would be interesting to know what the net result was for them in the end. Im sure other streaming platforms are watching closely.
Yeah cant justify keeping Netflix when in all honesty we havent really used it in some time now. The content they have just isn't that good anymore.
We'll probably do the same and sign up temporarily only when theres something worth watching.
My fiance will watch netflix exclusively because she trusts in the algorithm. Doesn't matter if it's a crappy 90s action movie, if Netflix says its #2 in Australia, that's what we are going to watch. With the new restrictions, I might finally convince her to sit through some of my 4500 DVD collection
Fiance? It is not too late mate… not too late..!
@thefud: Might as well dump all 4500 on her, no one's ever going to watch that 480p, clunky crap ever again anyway.
Surely they tested the impact on a certain number of users before full rollout so they could measure the effect on revenue per X amount of users.
Thats why the executives are on the big bucks and golden parachutes no?
They have already trialed in multiple regions around the world (4?), what I read said they had an initial drop off followed by a net increase in subscribers. I don't know total affect on profitability though. The way it was worded made it seem like more subscribers but if you lose 1 Ultra tier to gain 1.5 (on average) extra add on accounts from ultras staying, then you're still down in profit.
Not the article I read before but this one says Canada is their main touchstone for US market reaction. They also trialed NZ.
Netflix earmarked Canada as “a reliable predictor for the U.S.” Canada posted positive quarter-one 2023 earnings following the implementation of its password sharing crackdown, which has given Netflix confidence that the same could happen in the U.S. As things stand, Netflix seems poised to proceed, and it’s unlikely that even the “cancel reaction” will tempt them away from broader launch.
https://www.cloudwards.net/netflix-password-sharing-canada/
In any event like this, there is always a vocal group of people that complain and cancel, but then it becomes the "new normal" and people want their
entertainment fix. Remember how foxtel was still growing despite increasing costs?
@ssfps: You've nailed it. People are going from a situation where they are better off to a situation where they are worse off.
First option is to complain, and they may change the system a bit.
Second option is to assess the 'new normal'. Really people should be considering the value month to month, 'is ____ worth $___ to me this month?', and the new price shouldn't change that process too much, same with any other price increase.
I'd say the difference between between the old system with Foxtel being the dominant player and the new streaming system where even with Binge and Kayo Foxtel is still competing with some big players. Article below is a year old, but does show even then the cost pressures and strong competition.
https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/nine-foxte…
Netflix commands a third of all subscription streaming subscriptions and 38 per cent of SVOD consumption at the end of September 2021, according to research from Media Partners Asia.
Disney+ captures 15 per cent of subscriptions and 16 per cent of consumption, while Amazon Prime Video has a 15 per cent share of the market, through underperforms on consumption as subscriptions are linked to Amazon’s free shipping service.
Stan has 13 per cent of subscriptions while Foxtel’s services – Kayo, Binge and Foxtel Now – have a combined 11 per cent share of subscriptions.
and
“Australians are already starting to feel the pinch when it comes to cost, and that was before wider cost of living pressures came into play. On average, they report spending $55 per household [per month] on entertainment subscriptions, against their ideal target spend of $50, so they’re already spending 10 per cent more than their target budget. Most are concerned about the costs of multiple subscriptions services.”
I’m still “Turkish” and as of yet, no emails about password sharing yet and still paying approx $7 for 4 screens that I’m sharing with my family and friends
Same…. But when the time arrives, it'll be
Keep Netflix - Kick other people off account and downgrade the plan!
I only pay 'extra' as we share it, without them, I have no need for the higher plan.
Same, but I use the top tier for 4k anyway
Cancelled mine already. Barely use it and was mostly for family in the UK so no point.
30+ and still on parents netflix :D
Well have to wait and see if they stump up the extra $7.99
Time to move out of the garage!
Aren't all Ozb users already "residing" on foreign countries, not for the tax breaks, but for the discounted Netflix?
I sail the high seas, but reside here.
There were some reports on here of people from “foreign” countries getting an error message when trying to use Netflix here since yesterday, can more people verify?
Was thinking of moving to Turkey or India soon if sharing an account with family becomes an issue here but not worth it if its just going to be blocked.
I seen one person speculate once they bring in the account sharing restrictions they will block use in foreign countries since your “home” location won’t be in your “home” country.
Looks like Argentina has already added sharing restrictions, anyone from there having issues?
I had an issue with my account recently travelling overseas where I was region blocked. I was unable to use my Netflix in Singapore and customer service was telling me to cancel my Netflix and resubscribe in Singapore to cancel again and resubscribe once I return back to Australia. My Turkey account is working in Australia for now.
Hahahahaha
iinet and Netflix broke the internet years ago.
What goes around…..
Sail the seas I guess…
"The sea is always right!"
The problem is Netflix got greedy. Even if you wanted to do away with password sharing, they could have made it palatable by making the default cost $9.99 for a house (any number of devices under one IP) and any resolution. People would probably have accepted that.
However the prices are way too high, for far too little, and $8 additional for others under the same account is about $5 too much.
Its as predicted, the balkanisation of services - each thinking they are going to get more than $10pm for lacklustre offerings - is meaning people just drop those services that don't offer the value. Various services will merge/close over the next few years, with those that remain servicing particular key niches (kids, movies, comedy, docos, etc.) at an acceptable (<$10pm) price each.
You'll note that the idiotic attempt at Netflix charging for ads seems to have died a death. Sooner or later they will realise the only place for that is a free service taster.
To be fair, you can’t just say they are greedy and charge too much without knowing their expenses.
It is not cheap to produce movies or buy them.
I’d say the main actors are usually overpaid.
Having seen my membership fees used to film Hannah Gadsby's horror movie (which they mislabelled as a comedy), I can safely say they are greedy and not utilising membership fees well.
Don't you pay to only watch the shows?
If you don't like the shows on Netflix, cancel it.
@GG57: You dont see a correlation between fees you pay Netflix, and Netflix paying to making content? What do you think the fees are being used for? lfmao
@lunchbox99: Among other things, like CEO pay, the the perpetual growth model, which is completely unsustainable nd I don't know why we are still clinging to it
Are you basing your whole argument on one movie?
@illusion99: If you saw Hannah Gadsby's Something Special then you would come to the same conclusion. I'm going to assume you won't be watching it and that is a bloody good choice.
haha why be fair bruh?
this is OZB. Corporates need to lose and we consumers need to always win.
Take that fair attitude and get out!
:D
Going to cancel it as soon as they hit me up for this. So sick of their high prices and predominantly old shows.
Now, if you want to share your account with someone outside of your household, you will need to pay an extra $7.99 per person.
What if I'm not sharing but log into my account on different premises, or on my phone?
i’m pretty sure they set it so that you have to log in with the device on your premise at least once every 30 days
I hope so, that's not an issue unless you go on holiday for more than 30 days.
What about those who reside in multiple places? Or those that have no fixed residence? Or those that work in mining, oil and gas or the armed forces? Or if you move house or flat? It's a policy that's been made with an assumption that everyone has a particular living arrangement without any clear guidance at the moment on how edge cases are going to be dealt with. In my personal situation doing FIFO, if Netflix decides that I need to lug my non-portable devices, i.e. TV and Xbox, back to some central premise every 30 days then they can get stuffed and I'll be cancelling.
It'll prob just ask you to confirm device belongs to your account via sms/email like i just got after leaching from my parents :)
@nosey: Hopefully that continues to work. That fact that their previous comms about how this was going to work, and current lack of comms, significantly moderates my level of hope.
Look, I am just making logicatl assumptions here, so take this with the appropriate sized grain of salt required, but: I assume it'll be based on the account log-in spot (tracking the device type as well is unlikely), I doubt it'd make you sign in on the same device everywhere you go, so you won't need to "lug your non-portable devices" you just need to sign in. Or not even you to sign in. So I reckon you'll probably just need to sign in at the main location. So if it's at your house, as long as someone signs into your account at that address/wifi/whatever location data they're using every 30 days, it should be fine.
But, I could be wrong.
I was on the receiving end of their crackdown just tonight.
All it asks is to confirm that my device is part of the household by sending instructions to the email or phone number of the main account holder.
Luckily that's family, so a phone call later, all is good.
I do this with Disney Plus when someone I'm sharing with logs in on a new device, I use my sixth sense to figure out who it was and forward them the code.
Oh thats ez-pz then. I share with my sister and my parents lol but I wouldn't pay extra for them 😂
I believe this is earlt stuff is just getting theain household setup.
Then every 30days, all devices need to connect from same household (i assume IP based).
Might be possible to VPN to central home to check in every 30days… But that cld be annoying. And more so from TV based apps (phones much easier)
.
I did read something about the 30 day mark. I guess we'll see what they really do.
The VPN thing is not a bad idea.
Also it only asked to do it on 1 device, then all devices in my house were "enabled".
Hang on so even though you don’t live with the account holder it still worked?
Yep, I should have taken a picture, but it asks to confirm my devices are part of the "household".
Did it on the tv and then had no problems with the laptop later on.
So going by that check, I could theoretically log into Netflix on my laptop under account holding IP address, then take my laptop to relatives place once in 30 days, log in on their IP address, and that would be enough to keep all their devices connected?
I'm pretty sure you've taken over the entire account to use at your place. It now wont work at their end. I just did this, and that was the outcome. Would be verry happy to be proven wrong.
LOL, you just locked your family to logging in at your ip ever 30 days…..
Nah, they can just take it back whenever.
I use Jellyfin, hardware transcoding isn't hidden behind a paywall.
That's all well and good, but Plex is on everything… It's good that their competitors, but for like $80 on sale for lifetime, it's worth it.
Jellyfin is on everything too. Infact you can also use the client on all your mobile devices without stupid 1 minute limits and nag screens like Plex does.
If you purchaed a 12m Netflix seat via OzB classifieds, giddy up and get a pro-rata refund.
Caveat emptor
Tempus fuggit
Has the OP actually received an email from Netflix stating he is password sharing? Or is the post purely a "hypothetical" question for now?
I received an email this morning. It’s not very clear though.
Checking Google Maps for my nearest Video Ezy as we speak.
What is google maps? Is it like a Refidex? Can I get one in the trading post?
Basically it's Map Quest, but you don't need to print the directions.
OZbargainers still use Netflix Oz? I assumed everyone was signed up via India or Turkey by now.
Good luck when the majority figure out how to VPN and then what?
Anyone bothering to work out VPN for Netflix is probably just going towards the high seas
+1 for throwing the mandatory option "Bikies" in the poll.
Torrents
How do you watch torrents or torrents from laptop on the iPhone?
I will continue watching what I want when I want without ads without being stuffed around, AND I would pay for this service if it existed
But didn’t it exist until very recently?
I have always paid full price and never shared my Netflix password with anyone and in the beginning, I thought it was good value for money. My sailing the seas dropped by 99% but these days I find myself hoisting the sails more and more as the content on Netflix isn't as good as it used to be. There are too many streaming services around these days to make any of them good value for money.
I find Disney plus and binge is the one I get most use for and all the apple tv plus/HBO content I download the 4k rips and Plex it to my OLED
Got an SMS only (no email) when my Sister's cousins half brother twice removed in the Bahamas tried to login via a playstation that's somehow missing from my inventory.
Being the polite individual I just said yes it's me, I authorise access, because that sounded like a nice place to meditate to and watch Netflix on the beach. So technically everything is A-OK 🤟👌👍.
But yea, try that shite again and we'll be switching off for good. The content on there really is getting worse. It's almost as bad as…..antenna TV. I get more joy watching how-to videos on YT, skip the ads and I'm in control.🤷
What happens if you’re already watching Netflix on your account & you get the SMS from your sisters cousins half brother twice removed in the Bahamas? Would Netflix allow the extra connection… wouldn’t that contradict the whole idea… surely it’s not going to work??
Keep accepting the new address and add that tvyto your account. It's a 3min hiccup. If they continue then yea it's back to torrents or catch-up.🤷
Back to torrents
Better quality programming if I actually research and choose well
Sick of watching barely passable nonsense pumped out formulaically on streaming sites
I'm leaning this way as well. I'm sick of paying more for less.
These days with a high speed NBN plan you don't even have to plan ahead and download tonight's viewing.
Or stream torrents. Kodi + Fen + Real Debrid
I switched to Plex w/ Sonarr, radarr & Usenet downloads.
I got so shat off at having 4K HDR locked behind a paywall.
And some streaming sites wouldn't even output 4K
I got a good quality TV for a reason, if they are going to make me pay for sub-par quality then i'm dropping them for good.
I'm surprised by the number of responses here along the lines of "…don't like the shows on Netflix so will cancel…".
Why haven't you cancelled already?
Something about cost of living, but can't be seen to be pov by not having Netflix.
Lol
For me its because the family member who owns the account makes the least money out of anyone who uses it. Me quitting doesn't change their outgoing cost but changes the net cost to them and I don't want them to cover it. So I have been happy to just stick with it rather than bring it up with the family for the minimal use I get out of it. Now that the system no longer works, I won't get it again.
Cause of family using it, occasional usage myself. I have recently had a cull, Netflix is now on the edge. Lucky I do have a VPN back to an AU address that my Netflix account is registered to, so if I have to use it once a month via the VPN device then meh may keep it
I already cancelled but there's no option in the poll for "already cancelled". I cancelled a few months ago when talk of the new rules started in the news. Not particularly. missing it, maybe I'll resubscribe when Stranger Things 5 drops, or otherwise I'll sail the high seas.
What will i do with all my grandparents :(