Using Someone Else's Netflix Account? You're Not Alone

pcmag.com:

For a sizable minority of Netflix viewers, sharing remains caring, with a new survey finding that 33% of Netflix services show up on screens in multiple households.

This study, released Tuesday by Leichtman Research Group, finds that 64% of respondents pay for Netflix and keep their logins within their own household; 15% share their service with others; 15% are recipients of such generosity; and 3% split both a subscription and costs with other households. The remaining 3% don't pay for Netflix because it comes free with another service.

Historically, Netflix has brushed off worries about password sharing and suggestions that it would have to crack down on it. Last April, co-CEO Reed Hastings said on an earnings call that “we would never roll something out that feels like turning the screws.” 

But in mid-March, Netflix announced that it would test a “sub account” plan, at roughly $2.99 a month, in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru, because account sharing was denting its ability to “invest in great new TV and films for our members.” 

In the US, Netflix bumped up all of its rates in January by $1 to $2, with the Standard high-def streaming plan increasing from $13.99 a month to $15.49 and the Premium 4K plan escalating from $17.99 to $19.99. A year and a half earlier, Netflix had instituted a comparable rate hike. But unlike traditional pay-TV services that continue to bleed subscribers, it does not require one- or two-year contracts or pad out the total with fine-print fees.

We asked Netflix to comment on Leichtman’s findings and will update this post if they respond.

Leichtman’s survey, conducted online among 4,400 US 18-and-older respondents in February with a statistical margin of error of plus or minus 1.5%, found similar