MUNCIE, INDIANA. --- Following a big drop in subscription in 2022, Netflix looks to making change within the company and subscription count.
In a 2022 survey, over 100 million of the 250 million users admit to password sharing, estimating over six billion dollars of lost revenue. Realizing the problem, Netflix looks to combat this with their latest idea of just charging more to the viewers.
Starting in Canada and other test countries, Netflix will be charging $7.99 per viewer, per month, that are not in the account’s home address. This change will directly affect college students with a family plan, causing them to potentially stop using Netflix altogether.
“I understand it because it’s a business but like c’mon,” freshman Nick Wilson states in response to this new plan by Netflix. Understanding that it is a business, Wilson claims he will still ditch Netflix if the new rule is to be imposed in the United States.
“I could see my mom definitely cancelling our subscription," Wilson said.
“She just uses it to watch Friends which is on HBO Max as well,” Wilson claims to prove the possibility of cancelling the subscription.
Although only Netflix has brought this idea into action, there is speculation of other steaming services following suit if the Netflix test works well. Although not confirmed, this speculation would cause many problems for students of families paying for multiple streaming services at once like Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, Netflix, and Amazon Prime.
“I would have to cancel a majority of them because I can’t pay for them and decide on one, maybe two to use throughout the year because I can’t pay for them,” freshman Ian Goodwin explains in response to the idea of other services following in Netflix's footsteps.
As Netflix looks to implement this in the test countries, the United Sates will just have to wait to see how it goes and how Netflix will respond. In the meantime, college students will enjoy Netflix while it lasts for them.
Contact Maxwell Robson for commenets at maxwell.robson@bsu.edu
