Netflix boasts some of the biggest subscriber numbers in streaming -but how many of those subscribers are sharing their accounts with others? It’s a question that many Netflix viewers probably don’t want to see answered – but that’s exactly what one study has been digging into. The analysts saw the recent price-hike for Netflix subscribers and wondered – is that increase justified, given how many Netflix viewers could be using someone else’s subscription? As it turns out, the study reveals indeed there is a high number of Nextflix subscribers that are sharing their account – as well as data on who they’re sharing it with.
The study by Kill The Cable Bill found that while 47.5% of Netflix users haven’t shared the password for their account, 52.5% have. The biggest reason was sharing the Netflix account with a family member outside the immediate family (25.6%), followed by sharing the password with a friend (17.7%), and finally sharing it with a child that doesn’t live in the home (9.2%).
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No doubt there are plenty of Netflix users (including yourself?), who completely understand those results. As the age of streaming has begun to overtake the era of cable, it’s arguably become part of the social norm for groups of friends or family members to network their various streaming subscriptions. With that social change, comes the anxiety that companies don’t start finding ways to block the sharing process.
Other details of the study found that 26% of Netflix subscribers are considering canceling the service due to price hikes, but over 50% were firmly staying. Only 6% were firmly set on dropping Netflix due to increased cost.
In what may be the most telling details about Netflix’s future: while the price was the most common complaint about the service (36.6%), Netflix losing popular shows like The Office due to licensing expiration was a close second (28.2%). That situation is only getting worse as Friends, The Office, and Seinfeld (some of the biggest syndicated shows ever) will all be snatched back to debut on services like Peacock.
So far, there’s been no clear answer that Netflix has presented to that problem. The Netflix originals don’t yet seem to have the staying power to reach beyond 5 seasons in most cases – let alone the rewatch value of the most popular broadcast sitcoms of the last few decades. If nothing else, this study may bring Netflix’s current slate of company goals into clearer focus.
