Hot!
Netflix hints at password sharing crackdown as subscribers fall
- /home/u249204778/domains/spectator.com.gh/public_html/wp-content/plugins/mvp-social-buttons/mvp-social-buttons.php on line 27
https://spectator.com.gh/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/87.jpg&description=Netflix hints at password sharing crackdown as subscribers fall', 'pinterestShare', 'width=750,height=350'); return false;" title="Pin This Post">
- Share
- Tweet /home/u249204778/domains/spectator.com.gh/public_html/wp-content/plugins/mvp-social-buttons/mvp-social-buttons.php on line 72
https://spectator.com.gh/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/87.jpg&description=Netflix hints at password sharing crackdown as subscribers fall', 'pinterestShare', 'width=750,height=350'); return false;" title="Pin This Post">
Netflix has hinted it will crack down on households sharing passwords as it seeks to sign up new members following a sharp fall in subscribers.
Some 200,000 people left the streaming service in the first three months of the year as it faced intense competition from rivals.
It was also hit after it raised prices in some countries and left Russia.
Netflix warned shareholders another two million subscribers were likely to leave in the three months to July.
“Our revenue growth has slowed considerably,” the firm told shareholders on Tuesday after publishing its first quarter results.
“Our relatively high household penetration – when including the large number of households sharing accounts – combined with competition, is creating revenue growth headwinds.”
The streaming giant estimates more than 100 million households are breaking its rules by sharing passwords.
Boss Reed Hastings previously described the practice as “something you have to learn to live with”, adding that much of it is “legitimate” between family members. The firm also said account sharing had probably fuelled its growth by getting more people using Netflix.
But on Tuesday Mr Hastings said it was now making it hard to attract new subscribers in some countries.
“When we were growing fast, it wasn’t a high priority to work on [account sharing]. And now we’re working super hard on it,” he told shareholders.
The firm said that measures it is testing to curb password sharing in Latin America could be rolled out to other countries, with accounts that break the rules charged extra.
Lucas Shaw, who writes the Screentime newsletter for Bloomberg news, told the BBC that password sharing had been an issue for Netflix “for a long time” but was by no means its biggest challenge.
“It feels like the company is trying to identify an area of potential growth,” he told the Today programme.
“They’ve tried to curb password sharing in the past and had a very hard time.”
Shares in the streaming giant plunged more than 25% in after-hours trading following the news, wiping more than $30bn (£23bn) off the company’s market valuation.
Subscriber exodus
The last time the company lost members in a quarter was October 2011 and it warned that many more people would cut ties this year.
The firm remains the world’s leading streaming service, with more than 220 million subscribers, but it said a surge in sign-ups during the pandemic had “obscured the picture” around its growth.
Analysts say people are cutting back on streaming as they look to save money and feel overwhelmed by the volume of content available.
Netflix also faces intense competition as firms such as Amazon, Apple and Disney pour money into their online streaming services.
Paolo Pescatore, an analyst at PP Foresight, said the subscriber loss was a “reality check” for Netflix, as it tries to balance retaining subscribers with raising its revenue.
“While Netflix and other services were key in lockdown, users are now thinking twice about their purchasing behaviour based upon changing habits,” he said.
North America especially is “now awash with too many services chasing too few dollars”, he added.
Russia hit
Pulling out of Russia, a step Netflix took following the war in Ukraine, cost it 700,000 subscribers, Netflix said.
Another 600,000 people stopped its service in the US and Canada after its put up prices, it added.
Netflix said that move was playing out “in line with expectations” and would yield more money for the firm, despite the cancellations.
Its revenue in the first three months of the year was $7.8bn (£6bn), up 9.8% compared with the same period last year.
That marked a slowdown from earlier quarters, while profits fell more than 6% to roughly $1.6bn.
As it looks to grow, the firm said it was focused on international markets and was also looking at bringing advertising into its services.
Mr Hastings said it was “pretty clear” that ad-supported services were working for Disney and HBO.
“Those who have followed Netflix know that I’ve been against the complexity of advertising, and a big fan of the simplicity of subscription,” he said. “But, as much as I’m a fan of that, I’m a bigger fan of consumer choice.”
Analysts say the rising cost of streaming services was starting to wear on households.
Source: BBC
African leaders have been urged to strengthen political commitment and domestic investment to end preventable maternal deaths and AIDS by 2030.
The call comes as African health ministers and policymakers meet in Accra to deliberate on health financing, health security and universal health coverage across the continent.
Mr Edouard Bizimana, Burundi’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and Development Cooperation, made the call on Tuesday at the opening of the African Union’s (AU) 25th Extraordinary Summit on Health in Accra.
He said Africa needed increased domestic investment to build resilient health systems as it continued to grapple with infectious diseases and the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
Mr Bizimana, who is also Chairperson of the AU Executive Council, said although Africa accounted for nearly 17 per cent of the world’s population, it bore 24 per cent of the global disease burden while having less than three per cent of the global health workforce and only one per cent of global health expenditure.
“Despite maternal mortality declining by nearly 40 per cent since 2000, Africa still accounts for about 70 per cent of maternal deaths globally, while almost two-thirds of people living with HIV reside on the continent,” he said.
Mr Bizimana said the growing burden of NCDs was placing additional pressure on already stretched health systems.
“These figures are not merely statistics. They represent painful human realities, preventable losses and unacceptable inequalities, they remind us that health is not an expense it is a strategic investment and a prerequisite for our sovereignty and development. “he said.
Mr Bizimana said recent global health emergencies had exposed Africa’s vulnerability and underscored the need to expand local production of medicines and vaccines, strengthen the health workforce and improve emergency preparedness.
“Our citizens expect resilient health systems where every mother can give birth safely, every child has access to essential healthcare and every African enjoys quality health services regardless of where they live,” he said.
The two-day summit, being held ahead of the 20th Extraordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government, has brought together health ministers, policymakers and health stakeholders to identify solutions to Africa’s health financing and security challenges.
Madam Florence Samizi, Tanzania’s Deputy Health Minister, called for stronger collaboration among AU Member States to accelerate progress towards universal health coverage.
The summit is being held on the theme: “Advancing Justice, Equality and Universal Health Coverage: Ending AIDS, Tuberculosis, Improving Maternal Health, Addressing Endemic Non-Communicable and Neglected Tropical Diseases in Africa.”
The meeting is expected to adopt the Accra Declaration, a roadmap to strengthen Africa’s health systems and advance health sovereignty by 2030. -GNA
Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana’s Department of Political Science, Dr. Joshua Jebuntie Zaato says the imprisonment of the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, will have little meaning unless it leads to a broader crackdown on illegal mining.
In a post on his Facebook page on the July 21, 2026, Dr. Zaato said the judgment should mark the beginning of efforts to completely eradicate galamsey and hold all those involved accountable, regardless of their political affiliation.
He said the country must work towards restoring polluted rivers, protecting forests and ensuring that people implicated in illegal mining activities are prosecuted.
According to him, those the President has publicly acknowledged to be involved in galamsey should face prosecution.
He called for the prosecution of district chief executives (DCEs), members of Parliament (MPs) and senior political party officials who have been accused of engaging in or supporting illegal mining.
Dr. Zaato further urged the government to take decisive action to end the destruction of the country’s forests caused by galamsey.
He maintained that the imprisonment of Chairman Wontumi would only have a lasting impact if it results in a comprehensive and impartial fight against illegal mining across the country.
By: Jacob Aggrey
