Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

Forbes

Is It Time For Netflix To Crack Down On Piggyback Subscribers?

Until now, Netflix (and HBO Go) have been very lenient with letting people share passwords. The numbers have been small enough that it could almost be seen as a marketing cost. Password piggyback users tend to be younger and the idea is that as those people become attached to the brand, they’ll eventually pay for their own subscriptions.

But it turns out those numbers maybe aren’t as small as executives at Netflix would like you to believe. According to a new report from Parks Associates, 11% of Netflix subscribers use someone else’s password. Almost one-quarter of users 18-24 (22%) use other people’s passwords. That’s nearly 1 in 4 members of a key demographic who are watching Netflix without paying for subscriptions.

Netflix isn’t alone but among over-the-top streaming services it has the highest percentage of piggyback viewers — 10% of Hulu Plus subscribers don’t pay and 5% of Amazon streaming customers are using someone else’s account.

From the article "Is It Time For Netflix To Crack Down On Piggyback Subscribers?" by Dorothy Pomerantz.

Previously In The News

IGA's Massive Ad Play

IGA Worldwide Chief Executive Justin Townsend contends that his company's reach is actually greater than Massive's. After it launched its PS3 ad initiative with EA's "Madden NFL 09," IGA has seen "...

Casual Gold Bust

Two years ago, casual games were the talk of the town. Before the Wii-fication of videogames, it was these easy to play, relatively inexpensive downloadable PC games that even got grandmas hooked....

Blowing Up Bloons

"That's the tantalizing promise of the casual games industry, which hit revenues of $1 billion in 2007, according to research firm Parks Associates." From the article, "Blowing Up Bloons" by Ma...

Sony Set To Open Up To In-Game Advertisers

"In-game advertising is still in its early stages, generating a modest $54 million in sales in 2006, however, technology research firm Parks Associates estimates it could grow to an $800 million ma...