Take advantage of a friend’s Netflix account? From ancient history. Skip YouTube ads with blockers? A practice that should also soon belong to the past. In recent weeks, streaming platforms have put an end to entrenched habits among internet users around the world.
Against all odds, Netflix has decided to end account sharing, which has led to misunderstandings and complaints among users. A system that is gradually being rolled out around the world, including France. For its part, YouTube is preparing a plan of attack against Internet users who take advantage of its content with an ad blocker, that is, without looking at the ads that are shown before and during the videos.
A strong user base
This type of news usually has the gift of annoying users, anxious not to pay too much for these services. But after establishing themselves as leaders in these markets and amassing a strong user base, the platforms benefit from a dominant position, which now allows them to get paid without too much risk of losing customers.
For YouTube, the goal is therefore to promote its YouTube Premium service. This subscription offers several benefits, such as the removal of ads or the ability to download videos for offline viewing.
It is available in France at €11.99 per month, with a family version (5 accounts) at €17.99 per month. YouTube thus claims 80 million subscribers worldwide for these various services (including YouTube Music). An honorable figure but one that is still minuscule compared to YouTube’s 2.5 billion monthly active users.
This large number of users, however, allows the platform not to worry too much. A vast majority of Internet users will continue to watch ad-supported videos, which also allow content creators to be remunerated. YouTube benefits above all from a virtual monopoly in the sector, with competition from Dailymotion, among others, but for the moment it remains imperceptible.
Netflix leak risk?
In Netflix the intention is the same: to end the 100 million households that use their service taking advantage of a third party account. Therefore, the end of account sharing marked the fight against free users and the beginning of a new era for the platform, which claimed more than 230 million subscribers worldwide in early 2023 and expected more for the users. next months.
However, the data collected in the following weeks was mixed for the streaming giant: with the effective termination of shared accounts, more than a million Spanish users left the platform, for example. But in the United States there is an opposite trend: in a few days several tens of thousands of new accounts have been registered.
However, the company was able to benefit just before an increase in the number of users, in particular thanks to the development of its “Essential with advertising” offer at 5.99 euros per month. A first balance of this strategy could be made on July 19, when the company releases its quarterly results.
Source: BFM TV
