The Netflix Chill

It seems that Netflix might be in crisis.  If you can call it a crisis when it applies to what is still the world’s largest streaming platform with 222 million subscribers.  But for the first time in ten years, they actually lost subscribers!

According to a report, Netflix lost 200,000 subscribers globally and from the looks of things, more losses are to come over the next months.  As a matter of fact, they believe they could lose 2 million subscribers by the end of the second quarter.  They think the rise of competition and the sharing of passwords are part of the dip in subscribers.

So they are mulling over a couple of solutions.

According to Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings, Netflix is looking to add an ad-supported option at a lower cost for customers.  “I am a bigger fan of consumer choice,” said Hastings. “Allowing consumers who would like to have a lower choice and are advertising tolerant get what they want makes a lot of sense.”  That might not be such a bad option as far as I’m concerned.  I’m cool with letting someone else help me with the bill in exchange for listening to their “messages”.  This new option won’t be available for a year or two but know that Hastings and his team are looking into it.

Another solution they’re looking at will come as no surprise — a crack-down on password sharing.  Netflix estimates that about 100 million households worldwide using its service are streaming it for free.  Hastings told shareholders this past week, “We’ve just got to get paid at some degree for them.”  In a test program last year, Netflix prompted viewers to verify their accounts via email or text, but it’s not clear yet just how Netflix will set up barriers for password sharing moving forward.  But they’re comin’ to getcha.

My son in Colorado will finally have to get his own account.