One of Netflix’s flagship measures to keep its head above water in this difficult time, namely to charge more for people sharing their account with relatives outside their household, does not seem not at all developed in one of the countries where it is currently being tested, Peru.
What exactly is happening?
Last March, the streaming service announced that it was testing this feature in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru, with Central and South America representing the lowest revenue per Netflix user, which partly explains the selection of these markets. For example, the firm charges an additional $2.89 in Chile, $2.99 in Costa Rica, and $2.13 in Peru to add up to two users located outside the account holder’s household.
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The media rest of the world was interested in the users concerned in Peru, where he interviewed dozens of them to find out how the implementation of the measure is going; obviously, it’s a mess.
The notion of ” foyer » confused
First, there seems to be considerable confusion around the term ” foyer “. If Netflix assures that an account is for people living together in the same household, an anonymous customer service representative in Peru said she was asked to provide verification codes to subscribers who call to report that someone in their household is using their account from another location. This allows members outside the subscriber’s home to continue using the shared account for free.
Random according to users
The scenarios are multiple, which suggests that Netflix is carrying out different tests. For example, a user sharing his account with his parents, girlfriend and brother, all living in a different location, received no change notification. However, the service assures that all those concerned would be kept informed.
On the other hand, another user sharing her account with her friends did receive the message, but simply ignored it. For the moment, she, as well as her relatives, continue to use the platform as if nothing had happened. Another user explained to rest of the world that she had simply decided to delete her account to go to a competitor, HBO Max: ” It wasn’t just the new fillers I just didn’t enjoy most of their streaks anymore “.
The experience of affected Netflix users in Peru varies randomly. Photography: David Balev / Unsplash
Peruvian authorities do not approve of Netflix’s way of doing things
For its part, Netflix has confirmed that the rollout is gradual and that different subscribers may pay different fees. This way of doing things is still not to the liking of the Peruvian agency for the defense of consumer rights. It thus declared that the differences in tariffs could be considered as a means of arbitrarily discriminating between users. She also specified that an investigation into Netflix’s practices could be implemented.
For its part, Netflix assures that subscribers can waive the additional fees if they choose not to share their account outside their household. Asked by The Vergethe streaming service again explains that the implementation of its new measure is gradual, which explains the differences between users:
“Although we started working on paid sharing over 18 months ago, we’ve been clear for five years that a Netflix account is for people who live together in one household. The millions of members actively sharing an account in these countries have been notified via email, but given the significance of this change, we are increasing in-product notifications more slowly. We are pleased with the response so far.”
Netflix is in a crisis
As a reminder, Netflix plans to extend the fees for account sharing to the rest of the world by the end of the year. The measure is meant to limit the losses of the streaming giant, which lost subscribers for the first time in more than a decade in the first quarter of 2022, and expects to lose even more in the coming months.
As a result, Netflix has laid off more than 150 employees and wants to implement new features in order to recover. Thus, a less expensive offer supported by advertising should soon be launched, as well as the streaming of live broadcasts.