When Netflix came to Germany in 2014, the group was the pioneer of the coming streaming boom. Now you stand before the shards of what once made him great.
It is a measure that speaks of desperation. Because Netflix has stopped attracting customers in recent years and has been running away, the group is taking action against the sharing of accounts for the first time. However, the implementation makes the service even less attractive for many users. And he loses the last of the strengths that once made him so great.
Because when Netflix set out to turn the TV market upside down worldwide, the company succeeded in doing so for three main reasons. Netflix was cheap, felt like it had everything you wanted to watch, and was extremely easy to set up and use. All three advantages are no longer available. And that while the competition keeps getting better.
The end of old Netflix
The latest step is taking action against the sharing of accounts. One reason for the rapid spread of the service is certainly that it was so easy to share. With the possibility of being able to watch on four devices at the same time in the highest subscription level, the service was not only very attractive for friends, who could split the costs between themselves. Families and shared flats in particular benefited. Even if parts of the subscription community had long since moved out.
Netflix was fine with that for a long time. The more viewers you bind to yourself, the better, so the calculation. The fact that not everyone paid then played a subordinate role in times of eternal growth. That’s over now: For the first time in the past year, Netflix lost customers instead of gaining new ones. And is therefore apparently forced to take action against the account sharers.
No longer willing to share
A declaration that was published this week and then quickly defused about the imminent procedure gives an idea of what is to come. Each device used for Netflix is then assigned to a household. If you do not log into the associated WiFi for 31 days, the device will be locked. An exception was only intended for vacations in the first version: Then you can apply for a code that is valid for seven days for each device, explained the first and quickly changed version of the rules. The draconian rules are no longer found in the second version. That’s not an all-clear: the revised version is simply much vague, it simply doesn’t go into detail at all about how Netflix wants to implement its partial ban.
If that were to happen, Netflix’s ease-of-use advantage would be gone. Because it is not difficult to imagine scenarios in which even legitimate use suddenly becomes a problem. Be it for commuters who only use their devices on the go, for owners of holiday homes or second homes, for couples who are in a long-distance relationship: everyone suddenly has to treat themselves to at least one more subscription. Even those who only use their tablet irregularly and don’t look at Netflix for a month would suddenly have to expect a block.
desperate measures
Netflix hopes for one thing above all: new subscribers. According to several reports, more new subscriptions are said to have actually been concluded in test markets as a result of the procedure. However, it is doubtful whether every viewer will really create their own account after the step: the decision could also backfire for Netflix. There are numerous customers online who would rather quit. “I’m not paying 45 euros because my two sons are studying now,” complains a user on Reddit. Then he would rather give up the subscription.
Netflix’s biggest risk is that it’s long since lost its hegemony of the past. And that has to do with the loss of the other two success traits as well. After the gigantic success of Netflix, its competitors followed suit. From Disney to individual TV stations, one TV and film producer after another rolled out their own streaming service. This caused problems for Netflix in several ways. On the one hand, the company lost more and more content as a result. On the other hand, you had to turn the price screw sensitively.
The pressure increases
The increasing competition made life difficult for Netflix in several ways. While there used to be huge amounts of licensed material, especially on the international market, the number of series and films from third-party studios at Netflix has gotten smaller and smaller in recent years. Now many content creators prefer to keep the best content for their own service. What was offered on the market for licensing became more expensive because the services tried to outdo each other. Desirable content like “The Office” and “Friends”, which had been a safe bet for Netflix for years, suddenly cost hundreds of millions of dollars – per series and year.
The costs also increased indirectly. Netflix has been pouring more and more money into self-produced content over the years. So they wanted to make themselves more independent from licensed material. The uninterrupted streaming boom made that more and more expensive. Netflix was able to choose a lot of the content in the early days, but nowadays there have long been bidding wars for coveted projects. And: Even the Hollywood greats have discovered a taste for streaming content after initial hesitation. If everyone is competing for the star factor, this also costs a lot more.
Too expensive alone?
For Netflix customers, this spiral has rather unpleasant consequences. While there is more and more content, it is becoming harder and harder to find. While new series like “House of Cards” or “Stranger Things” were on everyone’s lips at the time, these hype series have become increasingly rare in recent times. And: They are becoming more and more common among Netflix’s competitors. If you want to see everything, you need more than just a subscription.
In addition, Netflix prices have continued to rise in recent years. The basic subscription introduced at 6.99 euros is hardly more expensive today at 7.99 euros. With the more expensive subscriptions, however, the group has gotten much more: the introductory price of the premium subscription of 13.99 has long since become 17.99 euros per month. It’s ok for a family. For most individuals, however, this is probably too much compared to competitors such as Disney, Apple TV + or the Sky streaming service Wow.
Taken together, these changes could cost Netflix its biggest pound: While customers have long since become accustomed to canceling other services and only subscribing when they need them, Netflix has been treated by many as the default service to run at all times . Also because it was so easy to share the subscription. The introduction of the new measures could now tip the scales.
Source:Netflix