Cowen & Co. estimates that roughly half of the subscribers who share passwords will opt into the smaller additional charge, while the other half will sign up for their own separate, paid account. The additional charge would be beneficial for families that share passwords for children who may share time in different households, while the separate sign-ups would be great for lousy people who won’t stop mooching off of their exes. Cowen & Co. estimates roughly 10% of U.S. Netflix households include a non-paying subscriber. I’d offer my opinion on whether or not that estimate seems too low … but snitches get stitches and if anyone asks me about Netflix password sharing habits, call me Jon Snow because I know nothing.

The pivot to monetize password sharing is likely due to the streamers’ stagnant growth, and the growing competition from HBO Max, Paramount+, Peacock, and more threateningly, Disney+. While Cowen & Co. seem confident that this decision would be a game-changer, other Wall Street analysts like Matthew Harrigan from Benchmark Co. are unconvinced. Harrigan told THR that the decision “cannibalizes full-ride member growth” and won’t turn out as well as Netflix would hope. 

Regardless, the days of password sharing seem to be going the way of the Dodo, and a lot of us better prepare to have very frustrating phone calls as we try and walk our parents through setting up their own accounts and explaining what “browser authentication” means. Godspeed, everyone.