The surprises at Netflix keep piling up. Last month, the streamer dropped a bombshell (a few, actually) when the company said it was working to introduce ads to the service. Additionally, a crackdown is underway that will target people who share their Netflix account passwords with freeloaders. The double push comes at a critical time for the company, which badly needs the new revenue these two pushes will bring.
This is partly an effort to stem the bleeding from huge subscriber losses. And now we know that both of these initiatives will launch at Netflix much sooner than expected.
Netflix Account Password Sharing Crackdown
In a memo to employees, Netflix management said the crackdown on sharing Netflix account credentials, as well as the introduction of an ad-supported tier, could come as early as the fourth quarter of this year. The New York Times reported on the release of this memo to Netflix employees on Tuesday morning, May 10.
Timing, if it actually happens on both fronts, is important, especially when it comes to the launch of an ad tier. Because Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings basically floored the industry last month when he simply hinted that this is something Netflix has decided to finally start looking at.
Taken together (the news of big subscriber losses, a crackdown on password sharing, plus the introduction of ads) suggested to Wall Street that Netflix’s business is in trouble. Doubters, however, might now have even more reason to doubt the company, given that its emergency initiatives appear to be on an accelerated schedule.
Is the streamer really in trouble?
This all comes as Netflix in the previous quarter saw a loss of subscribers for the first time in over a decade. That would be bad enough on its own. But Netflix also made the bad news worse by adding another shocker. The company said it expects to lose even more subscribers in the next quarter (the current one).
There are all sorts of reasons that could explain subscriber losses, including everything from people feeling like their favorite shows keep getting canceled to annoyance at price increases. Bottom line, though: This news, unsurprisingly, sent Netflix stock plummeting. And that erased tens of billions of dollars of value from the company’s market capitalization.
How to cancel your Netflix account
If the password crackdown, the existence of an advertising tier, and your own opinion that Netflix’s quality has been dropping lately – not to mention the fact that Netflix’s movie library has drastically shrunk – you might find yourself decide it’s time to cancel your subscription. If you want to disconnect your account (and maybe try one of these alternatives), here’s how.
Click here to cancel your streaming plan. This official Netflix page will tell you what you need to do.
If, by any chance, you still have a Netflix DVD subscription? You can Click here to cancel it from your account page.
More Netflix coverage: For more Netflix news, check out our coverage of the latest new Netflix movies and series to watch.
