“It’s more expensive than other OTTs, and they want me to pay more. I don’t watch it anymore” (User)
“If they ban account sharing, I’ll quit Netflix immediately” (User)스포츠토토
“Netflix is arrogant and domineering, even though it promotes account sharing” (User)
With the news that Netflix is about to start collecting additional fees in South Korea, there have been many complaints about Netflix on social media, with users encouraging each other to cancel their subscriptions.
According to the industry on the 1st, Netflix is planning to charge additional fees for sharing an account with someone who is not a member of the household in Korea following the US. The additional fee is expected to be about 10,000 won per month.
Since the news broke, social media has been flooded with complaints about Netflix. Users are even encouraging each other to cancel their subscriptions. Back in 2017, Netflix posted a tweet that said, “Love is sharing passwords”. Users are criticizing Netflix for its current behavior.
South Korea reportedly has more account sharers than other countries, so the fallout from the ban could be devastating.
The Netflix cancelation selection screen. [Reporter Lee Young-gi/20ki@]
BGR, Insider, and other outlets have recently reported that Netflix subscribers have been sharing screenshots on social media such as Twitter, using the hashtag “#CancelNetflix” to verify canceling their subscriptions.
“You can’t share your account with other people in your household,” Netflix said on its official blog, adding that those who do will have to pay an additional $10 per month.
With the recent account sharing ban in the U.S., many believe that South Korea will soon follow suit. In its Q1 earnings call, Netflix said that it would ban account sharing in Q2.
The reason Netflix is pushing through with the ban despite the backlash is that it believes that while it will lose subscribers in the short term, it will actually increase subscribers over time. In other words, the company believes that banning account sharing will create a bigger revenue base in the long run.
“We will see some subscribers cancel their subscriptions, but this will be a short-term impact,” Netflix said, adding that it is confident that the addition of standalone accounts will improve revenue over time.
On the other hand, the negative public opinion in South Korea is worse than expected. According to a survey of 1,000 Korean Netflix users in their 20s and 50s by the Media Research Center of the Korea Press Foundation, six out of 10 respondents said they would stop using Netflix if the account sharing fee was implemented.
Korea has a higher proportion of single-person households than other countries. The backlash against account sharing is likely to be even greater.