People Abandoning Netflix In Droves Might Cause Huge Disney+ Boom

in Entertainment, Movies & TV

Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven and ensemble cast

Credit: Netflix

Big changes at Netflix might bring more people to Disney+’s yard.

Maya Hawke as Robin (left), Joe Keery as Steve (middle), and Joseph Quinn as Eddiie (right)
Credit: Netflix

Related: Megan Thee Stallion Hints at ‘Stranger Things 5’ Role

Recently, home streaming giant Netflix announced that they will no longer be allowing accounts to share their password with profile users in different locations. This new action as reported by CBS, restricts profiles within a Netflix account to only being used within the same “home” — and they mean within the same literal house.

The backlash to this announcement has come with the usual internet hate, but this time it may be a bit more warranted.

Tom Sturridge as Dream/Morpheus in Netflix's Sandman on Cast Poster
Credit: Netflix

Related: Marvel Fans Abandon Disney+, Flock to Netflix for New Hit Comic Book Show

Twitter user @ItsNeeksYeah posted the following tweet that went viral on the social media platform, garnering more than 50K likes at the time of writing:

My Netflix account has had the same four people on it for over 12 years. I paid for my whole fam to have Netflix before I could vote. If they start charging for that, I will shut the whole operation down lol. Wild to me that their business model changed to “piss off everyone.”

The same user goes on to add:

Additionally, @netflix is being really vague about the exact terms of this new system that will cause them to fold. So, all of the sudden I have to pay for THREE people who have ALWAYS had accounts for free on my account? AND ADS? And I can’t log in while traveling?

(in reply) So I pay for four screens, but what happens with that? If four screens are being used then that’s what I paid for. I want a long list of EXACT perimeters before I cancel my ish after over a decade of loyalty lol. I’m thorough like that.

Forbes even reported that Netflix might even ask for fingerprints or faceprints to verify users, and quoted Netflix execs as readying themselves to “learn lessons from the banks” in this regard.

Anyone jumping to Netflix’s defense at this stage has been swiftly ridiculed, in classic internet fashion:

@El_Toro_Diablo: Each household needs its own account. What is the problem with that?

@kevkarr20: (image of “nerd” wielding knife, wearing Activision fedora) Leave the multi billion dollar company alone

But other users had more insight into other aspects of this move, such as the comparative pricing of other major streaming platforms like Disney+ and Amazon Prime.

User @jaddamental added to the discussion, commenting on the cost of a “screen” now with Netflix versus Disney+ and Prime, adding that “Netflix honestly sucks ass” after their “content just became utter trash”:

I was shocked when for one screen it cost me as much in aud as Disney does for 4 screens and Netflix has been around longer and their content just became utter trash. Prime is even cheaper again. Netflix honestly sucks ass.

@gabwithpurpose just canceled their Netflix account. And also brought up how Netflix had previously hired “diverse” employees “just to fire them”, while @ItsNeeksYeah replied in affirmative, stating how they think Netflix really “fumbled the bag with greed”:
@gabwithpurpose: I just canceled my Netflix account cuz they doing the most and none of their movies or shows are worth all this extraness. And aren’t they the ones who hired all them diverse folk just fire them or was that another company 🤔 everybody acting up these days so who knows smh
(in reply) @ItsNeeksYeah: They are indeed those people. I think HBO also fired a bunch of divisions created for D&I too! Netflix really could have had it all and fumbled the bag with greed.

Bringing up the ironic history of the late Blockbuster Video, @SarahNikkiiiii made a reference to how Blockbuster went out of business for similar anti-consumer practices — losing out to Netflix specifically. @GinaTHEMachine replied about how Netflix are “about to hemorrhage money” and brought up how “in these times none of us can afford to pay for what doesn’t work for us”:

@SarahNikkiiiii: And blockbuster scoffed the same way at netflix and where are they?

(in reply) @GinaTHEMachine: Exactly. They’re about to hemorrhage money. In these times none of us can afford to pay for what doesn’t work for us. Idk what the terms are but I’m already tired of spending what I’m spending and their catalogue is lacking.

Also? Ads are back.

Lauren McKenzie had this to say about the re-emergence of commercials on streaming platforms like Netflix:

Remember how we progressed past commercials by paying for streaming services and now they’re forcing us to watch ads or pay out the ass?

Love progress during end stage capitalism.

While users like @jjdools and S. Evienne Xavier expressed that they were likely to cancel their Netflix subscriptions:

We use ours all the time when traveling and staying in hotels or airbnbs that never have anything but streaming devices that you must use your own acct. And our son uses at college where they also only have streaming services.
We will likely cancel.

My older mother uses it and honestly that’s the only reason I haven’t canceled already. When they do this I’m switching her to the account holder (with my pay details) and downgrading to one screen. The second she says she’s not interested in it anymore I’m canceling it all.

Making a lucid point, @NightSkinGirl88 speaks about this “archaic” definition of “household” by Netflix:

We should be allowed to choose our household. Defining a household as people who live in the same building is archaic & doesnt work for single folk like me who lives alone but shares my account with my brother & bestie. Im paying, so why cant i decide who my household is
@Netflix

Indeed, the only thing people seem to be staying for are possible future seasons of fan-favorite shows like Black Mirror and Stranger Things (with its fifth and final season on the horizon) with its young stars Millie Bobbie Brown (Eleven) and Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), as well as new faves like Neil Gaiman’s astonishingly well-received Sandman adaptation starring Tom Sturridge as Lord Morpheus/Dream of the Endless.

Other than that? It looks like people and ex-customers are ready to sail the high seas, so to speak, for their Netflix fix — or else migrate to platforms like Disney+ entirely.

As @tiddycidy eloquently states their intention with several pirate flag emojis:

we need to get back to our roots🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️

It’s evident that Netflix is going to lose a lot of its loyal customer base with this move, if the intense backlash is anything to go by. People inevitably comparing the costs of the current streaming platforms with their inherent worth could give Disney+ a significant advantage. Especially with their massive catalog of Star Wars and Marvel Studios/Marvel Cinematic Universe intellectual properties, plus Disney and Pixar animated works.

The Walt Disney Company could absolutely use this as a chance to capitalize on the orphaned Netflix customers, by offering better user and customer-friendly experiences. Doing away with anti-consumer practices could also prevent people from turning to piracy in the coming months. Expanding on their catalog and offering even better shows could result in an even bigger draw for the average viewer.

Overall, all these abandoned accounts in a post-Netflix power vacuum could result in increased competition — good news for us streamers — as long as other companies do not follow suit.

What do you think about Netflix’s crackdown? Do you prefer Disney+ over Netflix? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

in Entertainment, Movies & TV

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