Netflix, the country's most popular video streaming service, is taking away one of its best features: password sharing.
The mean-spirited move will affect, by Netflix's own estimate, 100 million people globally who use a login and password from someone who is actually paying the monthly fee to Netflix.
My father, living in a retirement village up the coast from me, will have to buy his own Netflix account to continue his B-movie action/thriller fetish, or I'll need to pay an additional $7.99 a month to add him as an "extra member sub-account".
Netflix became a global streaming goliath on the back of its generous password-sharing policy, which became the best marketing tool in its arsenal. It has always limited how many people can stream Netflix at the same time. Currently, a premium account (NZ$24.99) allows you to stream on four devices at once, and the standard account (NZ$18.49) allows two simultaneous streams.
But the streamer now says the policy means it is leaving vast sums of cash on the table, cash it needs to fund the production of TV shows and movies to swell its already vast content library.
Denne historien er fra March 11-17 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
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Denne historien er fra March 11-17 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
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First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.
