Netflix to crack down on password sharing starting in 2023

By Trevor Mogg October 18, 2022

Following pilot programs in several Latin American countries earlier this year, Netflix has decided to crack down on password sharing globally.

It’ll do this by charging a little bit extra to the main account holder for each user who’s accessing that account but living in a different household. The additional fee hasn’t been revealed yet, but if it’s similar to the pilot programs, then account holders should expect to pay around $3 per month to include up to two people who live outside their household.

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Netflix announced the move during its latest quarterly earnings call on Tuesday, October 18, and said the change will come into effect in early 2023.

If an account holder decides to politely ask their Netflix guests to stop using their password, they can now migrate their profile and all of its settings to a new account using a migration tool unveiled by Netflix earlier this week.

In July, Netflix director of product innovation Chengyi Long highlighted the company’s issue with “widespread” account sharing between households, saying that it “undermines our [long-term] ability to invest in and improve our service.”

Netflix data posted on Tuesday revealed that the company now has 223 million subscribers globally, indicating a net addition of 2.4 million users during the July-to-Sept quarter.

After losing 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter and almost one million in the second — and forecasting 4.5 million new subscribers for the current quarter — Netflix will be pleased with the apparent turnaround in subscriber numbers.

Indeed, following the publication of the results, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings didn’t hide his delight, saying: “Thank God we’re done with shrinking quarters.”

In another big move by the video streaming giant, Netflix recently announced an ad-supported tier costing $7 per month, $3 cheaper than its ad-free Basic tier. Basic with Ads, which comes with some limitations, starts on Nov 3.

One of Netflix’s big rivals, Disney+, is also introducing an ad-supported tier on Dec 8, costing $8 per month.

If you’re considering jumping between streaming services or signing up to one for the first time in a while, Digital Trends’ lists of new movies and TV shows landing on different platforms might help.

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YouTube TV rolls out multiview: watch up to 4 NCAA games at once

An example of YouTube TV's multiview feature.

If you love college basketball and can process more than one game at a time, you're going to go bananas for YouTube TV's new multiview feature, which will be rolling out on a limited, early access basis starting March 14. With multiview, you'll be able to pick up to four channels and see them all simultaneously, with the ability to easily flip the active audio from one to another. The new feature is compatible with any TV-based YouTube TV installations (streaming media players, smart TVs, and game consoles), but it doesn't yet work on mobile devices or computers.

Initially, multiview will only be available to select YouTube TV users, who will be chosen at random. But Google says the goal is to include every subscriber by the time NFL football season starts in the fall. Another limitation, at least for now, is that YouTube TV will preselect the multiview channels you can choose. At launch, only channels that carry NCAA tournament games will be included in that preselected list.
How to use YouTube TV multiview
If you're one of the lucky, randomly chosen users, you'll see an option to watch up to four preselected, different streams at once in your “Top Picks for You” section. After selecting multiview, you can switch audio and captions between streams, and jump in and out of a full-screen view of a game.
It's all about sports
At the moment, YouTube TV sees multiview as an enhancement of the sports viewing experience, so only sports content will be eligible. YouTube TV has had some big sports wins in 2022, including 4K coverage of the Soccer World Cup, and that trend will continue in 2023 thanks to its acquisition of the NFL Sunday Ticket games. However, YouTube TV recently lost access to MLB Network and the MLB.tv add-on, which reduces the amount of sports content available for multiview in 2023.

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Apple Music launches standalone app for classical music

Apple Music Classical is a standalone app for classical music fans.

Classical music fans no longer have to wade through an endless list of promotions for the latest pop, hip-hop, and alternative artists to get to the music they love, thanks to the new Apple Music Classical App, a standalone app from Apple that strictly focuses on classical music. You can preorder the app now and it will be available for download on March 28.

To be clear, the app is not a new streaming service and it does not require a separate subscription. Anyone who already has an Apple Music subscription via Individual, Student, Family, or Apple One plans will be able to download and use the app, much the same way as you use the existing Apple Music app. Unfortunately, Apple Music Voice Plan members are not included.

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What’s new on Amazon Prime Video in March 2023

Daniel Kaluuya, Brandon Perea, and Keke Palmer stand in a doorway in a scene from Nope.

Amazon's Prime Video streaming service keeps things rolling in March with a long list of new arrivals. Highlights from the list of series and movies coming to Prime Video in March 2023 include new shows Daisy Jones & The Six, Angel Flight, and The Power, as well as recent theatrical releases Top Gun: Maverick, Nope, Creed, and Jackass Forever.

Read on for the full list of everything coming to Amazon Prime Video in March below, with our recommendations in bold. If you want a little more help in deciding what to watch, we have a list of the best movies streaming on Amazon, as well as a list of the best TV shows streaming on Amazon. If Amazon isn't your only go-to streaming service, we also have helpful articles on the best movies on Netflix and the best shows on Netflix, as well as plenty of guides for Hulu, Disney+, and HBO Max.