Netflix says it expects 'cancel reaction' to new password-sharing crackdown

The end is nigh. Netflix is seemingly racing to roll out its plans to put a stop to password sharing, despite the fact that it expects a “cancel reaction” from doing so.

There once was a time where Netflix said: “Love is sharing a password.” Apparently, love is dead, because the streaming giant has already begun charging users in some countries for sharing accounts, and that’s only set to continue.

Take a look at some behind the scenes for one of Netflix’s latest hits, Wednesday.

As The Verge reports, the company outlined its plans to roll out paid sharing “more broadly” later in Q1 of 2023 in its latest earnings report.

“While our terms of use limit use of Netflix to a household, we recognise this is a change for members who share their account more broadly,” the earnings report reads. “As we roll out paid sharing, members in many countries will also have the option to pay extra if they want to share Netflix with people they don’t live with.”

In the report, Netflix notes that it doesn’t expect this to go down well with subscribers: “From our experience in Latin America, we expect some cancel reaction in each market when we roll out paid sharing, which impacts near term member growth,” it wrote. “But as borrower households begin to activate their own standalone accounts and extra member accounts are added, we expect to see improved overall revenue, which is our goal with all plan and pricing changes.”

It’s not known when or where the password sharing fees are going to be rolled out next, but none of this is really happening at a good time for Netflix. Many viewers are already frustrated about the number of shows that have been cancelled recently (there have been four cancellations so far this month), so tensions are already high.

Just last year, Netflix introduced an ad-supported subscription tier for the first time, so it’s all change for the streaming service. It remains to be seen how subscriber figures will be affected by all this, but the company seems confident that it's all for the best.