How Netflix Is Tackling Password Sharing As It Gets Rid Of Shows, Loses Subscribers

Netflix is reportedly canceling an array of shows and scrambling for ways to curb the password-sharing epidemic as it deals with a blow from a large drop-off in subscribers.

According to an exclusive piece from The Wrap, animation projects that many have been looking forward to are officially being canceled, as many Netflix employees were also let go from the company. The long-awaited adaptation of Jeff Smith’s famous comic book “Bone” has officially been scrapped, as well as Roald Dahl’s “The Twits,” although a live-action adaptation of the famous book is allegedly still in the works. Netflix's Director of Creative Leadership and Development for Original Animation was released from his position, the company confirmed.

Since the start of this year, Netflix has lost over 200,000 subscribers, as the streaming giant confirmed that around 100 million households worldwide currently use a shared password to access its content. The company has announced, however, that it has plans to address the state of affairs in an effort to recover from its deprived revenue.

According to CNBC, Netflix plans to charge users an extra fee for users that have extra accounts rather than simply suspend them outright.

“If you’ve got a sister, let’s say, that’s living in a different city, you want to share Netflix with her, that’s great,” COO Greg Peters clarified. “We’re not trying to shut down that sharing, but we’re going to ask you to pay a bit more to be able to share with her and so that she gets the benefit and the value of the service, but we also get the revenue associated with that viewing.”

As Netflix’s growth has hit a wall, other streaming services such as HBO Max are seeing subscriber counts surge. The company confirmed that it has seen a growth of three million subscribers from the previous quarter, which is almost a 13 million year-over-year increase.