Last Monday 18th, the worldwide streaming giant, made the official announcement of new measures soon to be implemented on its platform.

 

"We’ve worked hard to build a streaming service that’s easy to use, including for people who travel or live together. 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."

 

This move is no surprise; Netflix has been working on a stricter control strategy over password sharing since March. The company started testing this initiative in Costa Rica, Chile, and Peru, under the name of "add extra member", a feature that involved an extra fee for subscribers willing to give access to someone outside the registered household.

 

Now, with the "add a home" feature the stakes are doubled. This policy will be released on August 22 in Argentina, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. A measure that is expected to tighten even further the possibility of sharing passwords, establishing for each Netflix account a single home from where to enjoy the service, (all while maintaining the possibility for the subscriber to choose the device from where they prefer to get their viewing experience.). Additional homes shall be paid. A function that you will be able to control from your account settings page.

 

Earlier this year the streaming giant lost a substantial amount of subscribers for the first time in 10 years, experimenting a downward spiral that is only expected to continue in the time to come. To this phenomenon, it must be considered the fact that an estimated 100 million households use the service without payment.

 

In response to current scenario, with the purpose of raising revenue, Netflix inaugurated a new monetization plan. With "add a home" feature, along with the upcoming implementation of an a AVOD system the company intends to fight back in the struggle for income.