[Update] Netflix clarifies restrictions on sharing streaming accounts

September 6, 2011 By Mike Flacy

Families that used Netflix's streaming service in multiple places in the household had a problematic Labor Day weekend. The DVD-rental company took steps to limit the amount of streaming films per account recently.

Netflix has long had a policy on limiting the number of films streaming at any given time, but never took the steps to enforce it. Likely started with the price increase on September 1, the company took steps to squash the volume of video streamed through the service and customers can only watch a single piece of content on one device at a time (according to StoptheCap). For instance, if a user starts and watches Good Will Hunting on an iPhone while working out at the gym, a friend or family member trying to use Netflix to watch a movie at home on a device like the PlayStation 3 or Roku 2 XS would get an error message about the limitations of the account. This move also puts pressure on consumers that share accounts across different households.

The volume of devices that can access Netflix streaming is dependent on the current plan. If a Netflix user is on the 2-disc-at-a-time plan in addition to paying for streaming service, that account can access content on two different devices at the same time. However, these combo packages start at $19.98 and range up to $29.98 for four discs with streaming. Consumers also have the option of purchasing multiple streaming subscriptions to increase the number of devices that can access streaming content at an additional cost of $7.99 per account. However, it appears that television programs haven’t fallen under the same restrictions as feature films. For example, a user could watch an episode of Mad Men while another friend or family member watches Iron Man 2 on another authorized device.

This restriction is surely to come under fire by the remaining subscribers to the streaming service after the September 1 price increase of 60 percent. The future of Netflix’s content library is also uncertain after Starz pulled out of negotiations for renewing the service and plans to pull all content by February 28, 2012.

Update: Netflix has issued a statement on September 7 from VP of Corporate Communications Steve Swasey that claims that “No Netflix member is limited to less than two concurrent streams.”, however users are still unable to stream more than one movie at once. The statement was likely released due to a policy-shift possibly stemming from backlash against the new limitation or to explain a technical glitch in the streaming system. Netflix has clarified things letting us know that if you have one DVD out, you can only have one stream. Have 2 DVD’s out and you can stream on two devices. 3 DVD’s or 4 and you get the same amount of streaming devices.

Showing 8 comments

Mike Flacy at 9:16am 7th September 2011 Updated the story. Netflix released a statement claiming this is a technical glitch only seen by a few users. Personally, I tried it this morning and I got the error message when trying to stream two movies to my iPhone and PS3.Seems a bit suspicious that this occurred at the same time as the price changes and it's being called a glitch. Especially when the wording of the policy matches the new restriction.
1. David Foster at 12:17pm 7th September 2011 Do you have a link to the statement? It seems to completely contradict itself. "You are not limited to less than 2 concurrent streams" is not equal to the policy of 1 stream per dvd out on an account. I have ran into this off and on for months. Sometimes my wife and I want to watch a movie but let one our daughter watch her own thing on my phone. Occasionally this error pops up. I understand wanting to stop sharing outside of a household but when it is legit like I believe our usage is it drives me nuts!What bothers me the most is that there is not a tiered option to pay for an additional stream without discs. I DON'T WANT YOUR STUPID DISCS!Phew, sorry about that but these Netflix dudes are getting me worked up lately!
  1. Jeffrey Van Camp at 1:51pm 7th September 2011 Yeah, I'm a bit confused after reading this. So we can watch the same movie on two devices?
    Ian Bell at 3:47pm 7th September 2011 Yes, if you have the 2 DVD's out at a time plan.
Robert Burnham at 8:22am 7th September 2011 Wow, really? One of the things I love(d) about Netflix was being able to stream more than one thing at a time. Having me streaming on the bedroom TV while gaming and the wife streaming out in the living really helped avoid the old "fighting over the remote" arguments. Add in our roomies being able to watch what they want in their room and it was a sweet deal, especially in a rough economy where we are all trying to find cheap entertainment.This move is just another middle finger at the customers. Now is a great time for some other service to strike some good deals with the movie studios and get a new product out there. Just make it compatible with Windows Media Center and I'll give it a look.
Adam Berberich at 8:01am 7th September 2011 come on netflix, quit hurting your customers. here's a relatively off-topic thought: go ahead and partner/acquire Dropbox. this way, netflix will allow people to virtually "rent" movies/shows and store them locally synced on mobile devices/dedicated set top boxes that do not require an internet connection. this way, users can technically own a temporary copy of the content and "return" them once they delete it, with another movie/show queued up to "rent." this will help ween them off the physical disc game thus freeing up lots of dollars (to spend on more content) they waste on overhead and be a truly streaming/virtual renting company.
1. TechFreak at 8:05am 7th September 2011 Great idea actually.I do wonder what the hell Netflix is thinking. I assume they have looked at the numbers, and they are getting the lions share of their revenue from general consumers who do not return movies quickly, and rarely use the streaming services.My guess is that they are tired of hardcore users who return movies religiously and stream a ton of movies. If that's the case, and they need to screw their early adopters in order to get more margin, then that's super sad. They aren't cutting the fat off their business model, they are cutting into the muscle at this point.
Elatia Grimshaw at 3:58am 7th September 2011 Bad move. What are they thinking?