Netflix turned on us in 2023: 5 ways it did us dirty
Netflix made a lot of unfavorable changes to its service in 2023.
Everything is all unicorns, rainbows, and butterflies in the beginning, isn’t it? Whether we’re talking about a romantic relationship, a friendship, or your streaming provider, they coddle you with all the affection in the world — at first.
Do you want to share your password with your friends and loved ones? Sure! Do you want to watch Selling Sunset without paying up the wazoo every month? You got it!
Now that Netflix convinced us that it’s much better than the big, bad cable guys, it’s got us in the palm of their hands. And those executives know it because this year, it began showing us its true colors.
Surprise!
You thought it was better than Comcast, but little did you know that it’s cut from the same cloth.
1. Price hikes
We should have seen this coming. Every time a market disruptor hits the scene, like Uber with the ride-share industry, everything is all sweet and dandy initially.
At first, there were plenty of coupons to go around and the rates were reasonable. A few years after its 2011 launch, Uber now has its claws on the masses – and it unleashed a gaggle of customer-unfriendly features like price gouging – er, I mean "surge pricing." (It gets sinister when you consider that Uber has been accused of triggering surge pricing for users with low battery.)
Netflix is no different. The streaming giant seemed like our savior from the wily ways of Spectrum and other cable companies. According to The Verge, if you had Netflix in 2013 and subscribed to the Standard tier, you only paid $7.99 a month.
However, in the decade since, the price has nearly doubled to $15.49 in 2022. In October 2023, Netflix announced yet another price hike, but this time, it had the Basic and Premium tiers in its crosshairs. The former jumped to $11.99 from $9.99; the latter increased from $19.99 to $22.99.
Netflix apologists will point to inflation and increased content-creation costs. The streaming giant justified its price hikes with statements such as, "We can continue to offer a wide variety of quality entertainment options" and "it’s much less than the average price of a single movie ticket."
I’m keeping a watchful eye on Netflix to see if these price hikes end up positively affecting its library. Aside from Squid Game, Stranger Things, Ozark and You, I haven’t been entranced by a Netflix show in quite some time. Have you?
2. Why can’t we binge-watch like we used to?
In addition to Netflix’s reasonable pricing, the streaming service’s alluring selling point was its binge-watching feature. We no longer had to wait week after week to watch episodes of our favorite shows – we could watch the entire season all at once.
Now, I’m noticing that some of my guiltiest reality TV pleasures, including Love is Blind, Too Hot to Handle, and The Ultimatum are having just a few episodes released at a time – before you hit a wall, and you must wait for the next batch of episodes.
In 2013, Netflix itself announced that most viewers prefer having the entire season at their disposal, allowing them to watch new episodes at their leisure.
"Our viewing data shows that the majority of streamers would actually prefer to have a whole season of a show available to watch at their own pace," said Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer of Netflix.
There’s always been a charm to what Time Out calls the "just one more-ness" of Netflix, however, the all-at-once-approach hasn’t been kind to the streamer's pockets. After all, dropping an entire season in one go means subscribers can "binge and bounce." However, if you stagger the releases, you can squeeze more money — and viewing time — out of subscribers.
Competitors like Hulu and Max (formerly HBO Max) have adopted the traditional TV’s orderliness of weekly schedules. "To expect a new series a week is a very expensive habit to fill," said Max’s Chief Content Officer Casey Bloys.
The Information hinted that viewers may enjoy the instant gratification of binge-watching at first, but they may end up feeling overly satiated from the gluttonous viewing practice.
"There’s evidence that viewers are fine with waiting for shows they really want to see. Take Max, which is seeing upticks in viewership over the course of a series when it releases one to three episodes a week," The Information added, pointing to Hacks and The Sex Lives of College Girls as proof. Viewership rose 70 percent for both shows, which had staggered releases, from the premiere to the finale.
But when Max dropped The Defiant Ones and Industry, series that were released all at once, the streaming giant didn’t see the same growth.
It looks like Netflix has been observing the success of its rivals’ staggered-release model — and it wants in. The streaming giant's move away from its beloved binge-watching strategy isn’t new in 2023, but it appears to be picking up steam with no signs of slowing down.
3. Netflix introduces ads
In the good ol’ days, you were able to snag an ad-free Netflix Basic tier for just $9.99.
However, in July 2023, the streaming giant axed it, so you can only choose between the following tiers:
Standard with ads: $6.99
Standard: $15.49
Premium: $22.99
In other words, to enjoy an ad-less experience, you need to spend more — at least $15.49. Before Netflix got rid of the Basic tier, you only needed to spend $9.99 to indulge in ad-free Netflix.
In June, we warned you not to get rid of the Basic tier. If you kept it, Netflix will allow you to continue on with the subscription. However, if you’re a new subscriber, or you have a pricier tier and you want to downgrade to Basic, tough luck. Yes, the Basic tier is only $6.99, but who wants to endure intrusive ads? We get enough of that with traditional TV.
4. Password-sharing crackdown
There was a time when Netflix was well aware that its users were sharing passwords with friends, family, and other loved ones — and it didn’t seem to care.
In 2017, Netflix’s official account on X, then called Twitter, posted, "Love is sharing a password." It’s now 2023 — and that tweet didn’t age well.
Tweet may have been deleted
In May, the streaming giant began alerting U.S. users about its zero tolerance for password sharing. "A Netflix account is for use by one household," the company said in a blog post.
The news temporarily caused a firestorm on social media, with X users circulating the hashtag "#CancelNetflix." However, that crowd may be disappointed to find out that Netflix has actually been seeing an uptick in subscribers since its password-sharing clampdown, according to AP.
Between July and September, which is not long after Netflix put its foot down on password sharing, the company reported that it saw a jump of 8.8 million subscribers. This figure is triple the growth Netflix experienced during the same period last year.
5. Canceling good shows
I’m heartbroken: Inside Job was cancelled after just one season. Netflix also had the audacity to put the kibosh on favorites like Glamorous and Shadow and Bone. Even Agent Elvis got the boot! (OK, I can see why Agent Elvis got canned, but come on, Netflix has a lot of explaining to do about the aforementioned shows.)
According to Deadline, Netflix decided to axe Shadow and Bone, Glamorous, and Agent Elvis after evaluating the financial impact of the SAG-AFTRA strike and the WGA work stoppage.
All I know is that Netflix better not touch Arcane (an animated action-adventure masterpiece), arguably one of the best shows on the streaming platform. (Season 2 is slated for a late 2024 release!)
Final thoughts
As Scott Purdy, U.S. media leader for KPMG, told AP, "The 'streamflation' era is upon us." He warned customers that they should expect more price hikes, password-sharing limits, and new ad-supported tiers.
It’s not just Netflix turning on us, of course – it’s Disney+, Hulu, Peacock, Max, Paramount+, Apple TV+, and more. "After years of charging bargain-basement prices in pursuit of fast growth, most of the big players face a financial reckoning, with tens of billions of dollars in losses piling up," The Wall Street Journal said.
That’s just how business goes, I guess. They lure you in with a great deal, and once you’re hooked, the mask drops. They’re the same nickel-and-diming antagonists you were running away from in the first place.
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