#Netflix Will Stop Billing Inactive Accounts for Those Too Lazy to Cancel

Netflix is going to start pausing inactive accounts. This means those who aren’t using Netflix will no longer be charged for it, after two years of not watching anything anyway. The announcement was made by the company in a recent quarterly earnings report. So, for those who have been too lazy to cancel, this may help.

The news was confirmed in a letter to investors. The streaming company says that the decision caused a slight hit to its revenue. However, the idea is to maintain customer satisfaction in the long term, as opposed to collecting a few extra bucks in the short term. The relevant portion of the letter reads as follows.

“A very small percentage of our members have not watched anything for the last two years and although we make it easy for people to cancel their subscriptions with just a few clicks, they have not taken advantage of that ability. So we decided to stop billing them and will do so for members meeting the same criteria going forward. While this change resulted in a slight hit to revenue, we believe that pro-consumer policies like this are the right thing to do and that the long term benefits will outweigh the short term costs. In a world where consumers have many subscriptions, auto-pause on billing after an extended period of non-use should be how leading services operate.”

Indeed, subscription-based services have become increasingly popular in the marketplace in recent years. This isn’t just limited to streaming services, as everything from clothes, books, healthcare products to daily meals and more can be purchased through subscriptions. This can all add up, especially services that aren’t utilized. Currently, the most popular Netflix plan goes for $12.99 per month. While two years of that serves as a hit to the wallet, Netflix will now help stop the bleeding.

In a world where Disney , Hulu, Apple TV , Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max and Peacock (among others) exist, streaming services may be a stop-and-start thing for consumers moving forward. Customers can always return at some point down the line when the content becomes worth it again. That is exactly what Netflix is banking on. Founder and co-CEO Reed Hastings had this to say about it.

{quote”I think of it as, when someone churns, it’s always temporary. They’re gonna come back. It’s just a matter of timing as our service gets better, as maybe their income increases, as the internet gets faster. We love people to get a taste of Netflix. We hope they stay for 50 years.”

Even with this relatively minor hit, Netflix is doing just fine. The company has seen huge growth in recent months, largely thanks to people being stuck at home during quarantine. The company added a total of 10 million paid subscribers in the most recent quarter, which puts them at 193 million worldwide. That makes them, by a wide margin, the most popular streaming service in the world. This news comes to us directly from netflixinvestor.com.

Topics: Netflix, Streaming