Netflix bosses expect cancelled subscriptions with password sharing crackdown

Netflix bosses have admitted they expect to see some subscribers cancel their accounts when the streaming service begins its crackdown on password sharing.

Currently, users are able to allow their family and friends to share their accounts to the streaming service by using the same password, something that Netflix has not officially tried to put a stop to - but that is about to change.

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A trial in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru in 2022 saw users offered the chance to pay a small fee to transfer profile information to a new or sub account in an attempt to put an end to people commonly sharing their account with others outside of their household.

The rest of the world is about to get the same crackdown on password sharing in 2023, with Netflix estimating that 100 million people streaming their content are doing so with borrowed accounts.

Speaking to Variety, the company's new co-CEO duo, Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters, told how they believe the new measures will affect their subscription numbers.

Peters admitted: "This will not be a universally popular move."

He added that he expected "a bit of cancel reaction to that," similar to what happens when the streaming service increases its pricing.

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Peters said that the new measures were intended to be "a gentle nudge" for subscribers to pay for users outside their own household.

Although Netflix’s terms of service say the account sharing many users do is not allowed, so far there has not been much in place to stop them.

Meanwhile, Sarandos spoke about the lack of sports content on Netflix, and its experimentation in fitness content recently.

He said: "“On sports, our position has been the same, which is we’re not anti-sports, we’re pro-profits and we have not been able to figure out how to deliver profits in renting big league sports in our subscription model. Not to say that that won’t change, we’d be open to it, but that’s where it’s at today."

Sarandos added that the recently-launched fitness content was a test for popularity and that it would continue if successful.