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Greg Peters, co-CEO of Netflix, speaks at the Mobile World Congress 2023 on Feb. 28, in Barcelona, Spain (Yonhap) |
As global streaming service Netflix began a crackdown on account sharing in other countries, many Korean Netflix users said they would leave the service if the ban were enforced in Korea according to a survey.
In February, a new plan charging additional fees for sub-accounts rolled out in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain. The plan, which makes users set a "primary location" to match their account activity, is expected to be introduced in more countries in the coming months, including the US.
Currently, Netflix Korea users with a Basic plan can add up to four sub-accounts as long as all account users stream content at different times.
An online survey conducted by the Korea Press Foundation's Media Research Center late February, whose results were announced Thursday, showed a loss in the number of Netflix subscribers in Korea if the new subscription plan is implemented.
In the survey, 62.8 percent of Netflix users who currently split their subscription fee with others for a single account said that they would stop using Netflix with the new plan, while 7.7 percent said they would pay for the additional sub-account fee.
For Netflix subscribers who do not split their subscription fees, 35.5 percent said they would continue to use their accounts, and 33 percent said they would unsubscribe if the new plan were to be introduced. Among the solo payers, 14.8 percent said they would stop account sharing, while 8.9 percent said they would continue to share their account for an additional charge.
Meanwhile, more than half of Netflix users who participated in the survey answered that they subscribe to other streaming services. Coupang Play accounted for 35.4 percent, Tving 33.9 percent, Disney+ 24 percent and Wavve 22.1 percent.
Some 66.5 percent of all respondents expressed the view that their current Netflix subscription plan was "already expensive."
