Account sharing of popular TV streaming services such as Netflix and NOW TV has increased by 57% in 12 months – meaning that 41% now share their subscription with friends and family, according to new research. New research by broadband and TV comparison site Broadband Genie has revealed that the likes of Netflix and Amazon […]
Account sharing of popular TV streaming services such as Netflix and NOW TV has increased by 57% in 12 months – meaning that 41% now share their subscription with friends and family, according to new research.
New research by broadband and TV comparison site Broadband Genie has revealed that the likes of Netflix and Amazon actively encourage their users to share accounts.
In Netflix’s case they charge extra for this privilege through their standard and premium packages. Amazon Instant, however, can be shared with an extra member through the Amazon Household feature.
Key findings:
· Sharing of streaming accounts increases from 26% in 2015 to 41% in 2016
· 18-24 year olds most likely to share their account information
· 22% of users are now subscribed to more than one streaming TV account
However, there are signs that the stance on account sharing may be changing. Amazon earlier this year tightened their policy by reducing the number of users allowed on an account from 4 to 2 [1]. And Netflix has stated that while they’re happy for users to share accounts “the terms of use is sharing within the household and that’s our expectation” [2]. It was found in last year’s survey that 18% were worried about being banned due to sharing their account details with friends and family.
Rob Hilborn, Head of Strategy at Broadband Genie, said: “Sharing one streaming account across a family is incredibly convenient and a great way for households to save money on these services, so it’s no real surprise to see more of us taking advantage of this.
“But while the streaming provider may be happy to provide easy access to sharing right now, the move to tighten their policies may mean the days of cheap streaming amongst families and friends coming to end in the near future. If they find it harder to attract new customers they will need to look at how they can get more from their existing customer base in order to drive increased revenues – and account sharing will likely be top of their list to achieve this.”
The survey also found that that the number of users subscribing to multiple streaming services has seen a sharp increase in 2016. In 2015 just 13% subscribed to multiple services. However, this has now increased to 22% in 2016 – a 70% increase year on year.
A key contributing factor may be that many shows are now exclusive to one provider. Broadband Genie’s survey found that exclusive shows were the second most important factor (38%) behind price (42%) when choosing a streaming service.
Rob continued: “The key battleground amongst streaming providers is original programming and exclusive rights to shows. What this means for consumers is that they’re now forced to subscribe to multiple streaming service to get access to all the content they want. While this isn’t ideal, it can still be cheaper than subscribing to premium TV providers that require you to commit to a 12 month contract.”
https://www.broadbandgenie.co.uk/
