Canadians are ditching their Netflix subscriptions in massive numbers as a result of Netflix’s new account-sharing policies and higher fees.
Netflix launched a new way to crack down on password sharing in Canada on Wednesday, charging subscribers who share their accounts across several locations an extra $8 per month. In addition, the streaming service informed Canadian subscribers via email of restrictions on who can access their account outside of their household.
Many Canadians have decided to cancel their membership before the start of the next subscription cycle. This is because they are enraged by Netflix’s unfair policies in North America.
The new restrictions in Canada are as follows: An ad-supported subscription for one individual on one device in one location will cost $5.99 per month. The same basic plan without advertisements will cost $9.99 per month.
A customer can watch on two devices simultaneously under the company’s “standard” plan for $16.99 per month, but they must be in the same physical place. There will be an additional $7.99 monthly price if they wish to watch in various locations, such as a parent’s home and a college-aged child’s dorm room or between two members of a couple who live apart. The regular plan will only allow for one additional user.
The “premium” plan allows four users to watch simultaneously for $20.99 per month, but there will be an additional $7.99 for each additional user in a new location, up to two. So if you have two members, the monthly cost for the most premium Netflix package would be around $35.
The total number of cancellations brought on by the new policy is known. However, people are using social media to vent their aggravations. Long-time users openly declare their intention to stop visiting the website and urge other users to do the same.
According to Netflix’s announcement regarding the new regulations, password sharing impedes its revenue generation capacity.
“Today, over 100 million households are sharing accounts — impacting our ability to invest in great new TV and films,” said Chengyi Long, director of product innovation at Netflix, on Wednesday.