Attention Deadbeats: Your Netflix Password Sharing Days Are Numbered

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Just when you thought living in El Salvador couldn't get any worse (friendly reminder: El Salvador was the first country to recognize bitcoin as legal tender, which has gone about as well as you'd expect), Netflix just dunked on the Central American country…

El Salvador, Argentina, Guatemala, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic have become ground zero for an unspeakable crime against humanity: a major crackdown on Netflix password sharing. From here on out Netflix users in the (mostly poor) countries will be asked to pay an additional fee if the company notices another user "borrowing" their password at another location. 

The voluntary fee will be $1.17 in Argentina and $2.99 everywhere else. In this economy?

Chengyi Long, Netflix’s director of product innovation had this to say in a sassy ass statement:

"It’s great that our members love Netflix movies and TV shows so much they want to share them more broadly. But today’s widespread account sharing between households undermines our long term ability to invest in and improve our service." (The Verge)

This expands a test that began in other pretty mediocre places to live: Costa Rica, Peru, and Colombia.

It shouldn't come as much of a surprise. My research (searching the blog for "netflix password") showed that password sharing has been grinding management's gears for years…

Why did they finally decide to crack down? Because shit just got real. Netflix managed to lose subscribers (~200k) for the first time EVER last quarter. And when it reports earnings this week it's expected to lose 2 million more.

Times are tough at Netflix. Its shares are down nearly 70% this year amid concerns that Disney+ (and others) are drinking its milkshake.

So, how does Netflix plan to right the ship? By pumping out spinoffs of 'Stranger Things' and more 'mommy porn' than Brazzers, of course. Content is king, and it's the only way to keep streamers from canceling a subscription in the ultra competitive streaming industry.

Just one problem: content is expensive as fuck. Hence the password crackdown… and last week's decision to do the unthinkable: sign with Microsoft to start slinging ads on the platform. You might recall that Netflix was notoriously anti-ad.

So why is Netflix picking on a bunch of countries that probably won't amount to much more than being bucket-list vacation spots? Because if the streaming service can manage to avoid an armed rebellion in Central and South America, it'll be bringing its password sharing crackdown talents to the US and other major markets. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Snap Necks and Cash Checks, 

Tyler

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