According to evidence gathered by The New York Times, the rise of Internet streaming has resulted in the rise of password sharing among users. At this time, Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX ) has yet to formally crack down on password sharing, despite the fact that it potentially threatens its business. Before it can lay down the hammer, it must create a thriving ecosystem that commands the mindshare of Internet streamers. In this video, Motley Fool contributor Steve Heller weighs in on the findings and what it could mean for investors.
The opportunities in streaming media have brought some new, deep-pocketed rivals looking for their piece of a growing pie. Can Netflix fend off this burgeoning competition, and will its international growth aspirations really pay off? These are must-know issues for investors, which is why The Motley Fool has released a premium report on Netflix. Inside, you'll learn about the key opportunities and risks facing the company, as well as reasons to buy or sell the stock. The report includes a full year of updates to cover critical new developments, so make sure to click here and claim a copy today.
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Report this Comment On April 15, 2013, at 1:45 PM, blacque59 wrote:
Since I share my account with my 17 year old daughter, who lives in the household with me, I see no problem. I will not get a separate account for her. As a rule, I don't share the account with anyone else outside of my household. But, I'm sure there are people who do this. And, for this, I feel that others will suffer.
Report this Comment On April 15, 2013, at 2:04 PM, TMFRhino wrote:
Netflix terms of use allow password sharing within a "household"... So, you're entirely within the terms of use.
Report this Comment On April 15, 2013, at 2:05 PM, jauntysays9 wrote:
when will Netflix update their streaming library? Why would you place so much restriction on something that is sub-standard. I'm not happy with the 'watch all the movies you want for our 7.99 plan.
Report this Comment On April 15, 2013, at 2:08 PM, speechisntfree wrote:
the account should always be for the household..... the password sharing that would be stopped is when you share it with a relative or friend who then logs in from their household.....
stopping that will be easy through the requesting ip address being checked against the ip address who subscribed since the same address always comes into your router as assigned by your isp..... the variable is with mobile devices..... however..... that also is not a problem and will be dealt with in the same way that you have to "authorize" devices when you purchase things like digital books online.....
so what will happen is..... Netflix will come up with a limit on authorized devices for one streaming account in the same way that Norton does when it sells you virus protection and gives you 3
"licenses"..... or any other company that is open to be "pirated" by password sharing or multiple installations.....
this will ultimately result in additional revenue for Netflix and allow them to keep rates at $7.99 per month for a longer period of time by causing everyone who uses their service to actually pay for their service.....
but I'm just a dumb guy so what do I know?
Report this Comment On April 15, 2013, at 2:51 PM, Kaddam wrote:
The bigger questin of Netflix: When will the databse of your movies match the movie database for your dvds thru mail?
Report this Comment On April 15, 2013, at 3:21 PM, fatnhungry wrote:
Ok so what some of you guy are saying that if Im in my home we can share access to Netflix which is cool, However what happens when im in a diffrent computer or at my parents home in California and since im a subsriber already does this mean i wont be able to use netflix at their house. are they gonna make me pay for another account, I dont think so, i like to watch movies at my friends home. I think they should sell the monthly subsribtion to you not your home. meaning my subscribsion should follow me not my home. my humble opnion.
Report this Comment On April 15, 2013, at 3:51 PM, Bonjovichick wrote:
My daughter and I share an account while she is at college. I know that others do so as well. The rule is you can have it on up to 30 devices but you can only be accessing 2 of them at a time. Works ok for us- larger families not sure that they can share it very well like we do in two different states. I consider as long as she is at college but her legal residence is still with me that she can use the family account.
Report this Comment On April 15, 2013, at 4:02 PM, joshsorensen wrote:
Is that how you justify stealing?
Report this Comment On April 15, 2013, at 4:57 PM, funkym0nkey wrote:
The thing with this is Netflix is used over the internet. So am I not allowed to use it if I go to a friends house and I want to use it, if I am traveling, if I am in college and I travel frequently from my college home to my parents home to visit. They could not stop something like that... it would be foolish. If you have a laptop or any portable device and what to use it all over the place it could look like you are sharing with lots of people.
Report this Comment On April 15, 2013, at 6:18 PM, pakrfan4life wrote:
I think that Netflix provides a service and shouldn't be cheated. No company should.
If you think they are substandard then don't use them.
People that steal from the internet are no better than a flash mob hitting a 7/eleven. IMHO
Report this Comment On April 15, 2013, at 7:29 PM, Speedracer69 wrote:
Netflix allows up to 2 people to use their service so how is that a problem? Its not!
Report this Comment On April 15, 2013, at 10:12 PM, AceInMySleeve wrote:
This is a kind of thing you don't wring your hands about until you see the numbers. Assuming Netflix can figure out home IPs from mobile IPs they can probably get a good guess how many accounts are being used from multiple home IPs (or multiple Xboxes, etc). If this figure is 5-10% and steady, then whatever, cost of business.
On the DVD side they've always had people that were unprofitable because they churned through discs copying them. That business is nevertheless quite profitable.
Report this Comment On April 15, 2013, at 10:17 PM, Bailey1207 wrote:
My brother & I share one account BUT we both pay for it. We're college students in different states and instead of both of us paying $8 a month we have one account and we split the costs.
Report this Comment On April 21, 2013, at 12:47 PM, djinn56 wrote:
So if I pay for a Netflix account but use it on two different tvs, a desktop computer, a laptop when I travel and sign on with many different isps, and an iphone or android, I'm stealing??? Even if I'm only using one device at a time? The stealing is being done by Netflix in ripping us off by charging us two times for what used to be a single service.
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