Hacker News Reader

Comment by chucky | Hacker News Reader

As part of a single person household it feels weird that there is a norm that you are allowed to share logins "within your household". Effectively this means people in the same household are paying a lower price than others - so people living in single households are effectively subsidizing that usage by paying more per person.

View on HN

Do you expect my wife to turn away from the TV when I am watching Netflix?

Each tier has a number of simultaneous streams allowed. If you want multiple people to be able to stream at once you pay more, and if you are streaming one at a time on the same device, you really think each person should have their own account?

> Do you expect my wife to turn away from the TV when I am watching Netflix?

No, and I do not expect my friends to turn away when they are visiting my home. This is not at all what I said or meant, and I think you know that.

> Each tier has a number of simultaneous streams allowed. If you want multiple people to be able to stream at once you pay more, and if you are streaming one at a time on the same device, you really think each person should have their own account?

There are really two things here. Yes, I am aware Netflix has a model where you can pay to have multiple streams ongoing at the same time. That's the model I am questioning, because obviously one person can only watch one stream, so this can only be used by different people in a household.

As for the other part of your question, yes, that is exactly what I think. Each person should pay equally for their own account. Why am I allowed to share my 2 streams with a partner in the next room, but not with a partner in Australia? What is the difference between the two?

I am guessing the reason is twofold.

One, they know it is unlikely a family would pay for more than one account while living in the same house, but they might get a few extra bucks for the family upgrading to a multiple streams subscription.

Two, they probably have data that a shared account in the same house does less simultaneous streaming on average than a shared account in multiple houses.

Almost everything is cheaper for multiple people living as a unit. Wait until you find out people with partners effectively have their rent halved.

Not sure why you are using such a condescending tone, but I do understand how rent and the costs of living work.

The difference is that if I brought another person into my home then yes, we could split the rent, but it would also halve the amount of living space per person.

Except that rents are now at a level that need two people to cover - so that issue is kind of priced in already?

You mean like internet access, telephone and cable tv? Single and multi person households both have pros and cons and this is just a pro for multi person households. The con is you need a more expensive netflix plan or you can't just watch when you want to.

For products with a flat rate, the people who use it less are subsidizing it for people who use it more too. Would you say there is a problem with that?

I share my account with my dad, who does not live with me. He's been self-isolating for almost a full year and has redefined 'binge-watching' to a whole new level.

I rarely watch Netflix since it seems mostly series stretched across multiple episodes despite having a story that wouldn't justify a comic strip.

So, yes, I am subsidising him consuming stuff that Netflix would have to pay me to watch.

Are you saying if you have a wife and kid you should pay 3x the price?

It's obviously not something that is going to happen, but it's also not that crazy of an idea. They use more water so you pay for more water. They use more clothing so you pay for more clothing. They use more cellular devices so you pay for more cellular connections. They each want an email address so you pay for more email accounts. They use more digital content so you pay for more digital content.

I wouldn't put it like that. I would say that each user using Netflix should pay the same amount. So you pay for yourself, your wife pays for herself, and your kid pays for themselves.

Sure, it's 3 times more than what you pay today. But you are 3 times as many people as I am, so why shouldn't you?

And three roommates splitting rent pay less than the person who lives in a three bedroom apartment alone.

If it really bothers you, get a few people to pay you a few bucks to be included in your "household" and use your netflix account with you the same way that apartment owner sublets the extra rooms.

>If it really bothers you, get a few people to pay you a few bucks to be included in your "household" and use your netflix account with you the same way that apartment owner sublets the extra rooms.

But I can't do that - this is exactly what the article is saying Netflix is now starting to take action against, and it is already against their TOS.

You're restricted to sharing with people in your household, but you get to define who is in your household.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com