Netflix has held talks with the UK’s leading TV platforms as it prepares to enforce rules limiting who and how subscribers can share their accounts with others.
The streamer is expected to commence warning subscribers over the misuse of their accounts within weeks.
The Financial Times has confirmed that telecoms groups that use Netflix as part of bundled TV content have held meetings in the past week over the planned warnings.
The talks are designed to prepare operators for the risk of customers – many of who have shared their accounts with friends and relatives as a matter of course – for a series of complaints. One operator said that Netflix had been a “good partner” by engaging in the talks to help platforms who offer the streamer field the projected calls.
Subscribers will be encouraged to set up a Primary Location where their Netflix account will mostly be used. They will also be able to manage their account access and devices – a feature surprisingly absent until recently. It is also possible to Transfer a profile – and add additional “member sub accounts” for people not residing at the Primary Location.
While attempting to stabilise its subscriber base and ensure it has the funds to continue investing in TV content, Netflix runs the risk of alienating existing subscribers. In Spain, where the crackdown is already underway, resulted in the loss of one million subscribers, according to Kantar Worldpanel.
