Video streaming platform Netflix is keen to end password sharing this year, which has been a major reason for its falling revenues, and plans to carry out an advertising-supported business model. The new co-chief executive officers (CEOs) Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos gave more details to Bloomberg on how they intended to end the password sharing habit.
Peters maintained that the tech giant would not forfeit buyer experience even after rolling out the controlled password sharing by ensuring it is a graduated approach. The majority of users who do not pay for Netflix but use it will have to pay for the content eventually, he added.
He is well aware that this will not be a popular initiative and that the company might possibly face some unhappy customers. However, the CEOs emphasised their commitment to expand the platform's user base by 15 to 20 million, especially focusing on high-growth markets like India.
In the interaction, when asked about the number of people who will pay for password sharing, Peters answered that Netflix would like to win them over by providing them content like the popular mystery film ‘Glass Onion’ every week.
To review, the over-the-top (OTT) platform recently launched a lower-priced, ad-supported tier in November which is available in 12 markets including the US, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico and Spain.
Paid net augmentations for Netflix remained at 7.7 million universally in the December quarter of 2022 versus 8.3 million in a similar period in 2021. In the Asia and Pacific locale, Netflix added 1.8 million paid individuals in the December quarter, lower than the 2.58 million included in a similar period a year prior. The platform doesn't disclose India-specific numbers independently.
The final quarter saw year-over-year income development of 2 per cent, driven by a 4 per cent increment in average paid membership. ARM (average revenue per member) declined 2 per cent year-over-year, but grew 5 per cent on a foreign exchange neutral basis, Netflix said. Operating income of $550 million in Q4 was down versus $632 million in Q4 ‘21.
