Want Cheaper Netflix? Stop Sharing Your Password
No one wants to go without Netflix. The streaming service has some of the most buzzed-about original movies and shows, plus a plethora of content from around the world that you can't find anywhere else.
Netflix spends a lot of money to make and license all that content, which is probably why its subscription costs keep rising. CableTV.com did an analysis of the pricing on cable services versus the major streamers for the last decade. Netflix's prices have shot up 89.9%, more than Amazon Prime Video and Hulu combined. Only HBO Max saw a price drop, but that was likely due to the introduction of the $9.99-per-month ad-supported version that launched last year.
The total hike across the board for streaming-service prices since 2012 is 48.9%. Cable went up only 33.84%, but cable TV usage also plummeted, according to Pew Research, so any price increase might be viewed as excessive.
Just in time for the announcement that Netflix is coming up with a scheme to prevent password sharing outside the house of the account owner—which includes added costs—the online gambling reviews website time2play did a survey of 1,523 Americans across all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., to ask how they use Netflix. It came up with the kind of evidence that makes Netflix feel zero guilt about a price increase or password-protection scheme. Forty-four percent of respondents said they use someone else's Netflix—someone they don't even live with. What’s more, the average Netflix account owner shares with up to 2.3 people.
Across the 50 states, the lowest percentage of "streaming swindlers" was in Utah, at 23%; the highest was in Ohio, at 59%. Here's the full map.
Seventy-nine percent of the people "stealing" Netflix via their pals say they won't ever
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