Netflix to raise account-sharing fees

Netflix will collect an additional fee from users who share accounts with those outside of their households. Other local streaming providers are also increasing their subscription fees.

Domestic Netflix out-of-house members sharing an account will now have to pay an additional 5,000 won per month. [REUTERS]

Netflix will charge an additional 5,000 won ($3.73) per member for sharing an account in Korea. Other local streaming providers are also set to raise subscription fees.

The U.S. streaming giant announced the decision on its website on Thursday. It made similar announcements in other countries this year. In comparison, users in the United States pay $7.99 for each extra member per month. Netflix restricts account sharing to people who live together in one household. “Account owners can buy an extra member slot and invite people outside their household to use Netflix,” the company's website reads.

Members who share Wi-Fi under the same roof are considered to be a part of a household. Members who live separately and do not share the account owner's Wi-Fi (based on their registered IP address and internet usage) are not considered to be a part of the same household, and must either register as additional users or make a separate account.

Netflix will send out emails notifying account sharers of the platform's new policy.

Access restrictions will roll out gradually. If users or outside devices that do not share the same residence as their account owner try to access their account, a notification will pop up.

Premium subscription plan subscribers can add up to two extra members and standard plan subscribers can add 1 extra member. The standard plan currently costs 13,500 won per month and the premium plan costs 17,000 won. The standard plan with ads and the basic plan do not allow for extra members.

The same policy has been implemented for Netflix users in most countries in North and South America, Europe, and other Asian countries. Before rolling out in Korea, the policy was enacted in Canada, Portugal, New Zealand, and Spain in February, and was expanded to around 100 other countries in May.

Tving, a domestic online streaming platform, will increase prices starting in December and introduce a new ad-supported plan next year. [TVING]

Domestic streaming platform Tving will also roll out new prices and subscription plans, with price increases starting in December.

Tving announced Tuesday that basic subscription plan prices will increase by 20.3 percent from 7,900 won to 9,500 won. Standard plans will increase from 10,900 won to 13,500 won, a jump of 23.9 percent, and premium plans will increase 22.3 percent from 13,900 won to 17,000 won.

Current subscribers and those who subscribe before December will be able to maintain their lower rates. Tving will apply in-app prices to existing subscribers until March, with basic plans starting at 9,000 won, standard plans at 12,500 won, and premium plans at 16,000 won per month.

An ad-supported plan will also be introduced, at 5,500 won, in the first quarter of 2024.

Twenty-nine live channels from broadcasters tvN and JTBC, currently available for streaming only to paying subscribers, will be available starting in December.

Tving's price hikes are the first to come from a domestic streaming platform, and are expected to influence the subscription strategies of other domestic platforms such as Wavve and Watcha.

Overseas businesses — including Netflix, Disney+ and Apple TV+ — raised their prices by 20 to 40 percent starting last year, creating the term “streamflation” to describe the rising prices of streaming services amid fierce competition for subscribers.

“As supply costs increase due to content acquisition and higher production costs, the situation calls for an increase in subscription prices,” said an anonymous employee in the streaming industry.

BY JEONG HYE-JEONG, KIM NAM-YOUNG, KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]