Netflix Inc is testing features including one that will allow accounts to be shared outside members’ household at an extra cost, the streaming pioneer said on Wednesday. The company is testing the features in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru allowing members on its standard and premium plans to add up to two people.Â
- Subscribers with premium and standard plans will be able to add up to two additional users in other locations, the company said Wednesday in a blog post. The additional fees will vary by country. Costa Ricans will pay $3 more per month. “We recognize that people have many entertainment choices, so we want to ensure any new features are flexible and useful for members, whose subscriptions fund all our great TV and films,” Netflix product innovation director Chengyi Lon said in a blog post.
- Netflix is making it easy for subscribers to transition a new member to the plan, keeping in place their account profile, viewing history and personalized recommendations. It also means the company will more aggressively go after subscribers who share their logins with friends and family members outside their home.
- Netflix ended last year with 221.8 million subscribers, just below target, after booming during coronavirus lockdowns that kept people at home and on the platform.
- Things are not looking better for the first quarter of 2022, with the most recent Netflix earnings report saying the firm expected to add only 2.5 million subscribers.
- Most of the 8.3 million subscriptions added at the end of last year came from outside North America, according to the streaming service. Netflix recently announced subscription price bumps in the United States, with the basic option now costing $9.99, and the most expensive going up to $19.99.
