ZWF: Love is NOT sharing a password
Zander's Weekend Facts #52: Sunday, February 5, 2023
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Inside this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts, a focus on how Netflix could stop you from sharing your password, and a look at what Zander’s been reading this past week. Plus, a compilation of the top headlines from the last seven days.
Also, go listen to the latest episode of the Zander’s Facts podcast! Episode 92 features a deep dive into the worlds of augmented and virtual reality, which could be the next big technology to take over our world. Plus, Zander recaps the latest news in U.S. Soccer on the two-year anniversary of the Zander’s Facts podcast! Go download the Zander’s Facts podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
Here are Zander’s Weekend Facts for Sunday, February 5, 2023:
Netflix takes aim at subscription sharing
Remember this tweet from Netflix in 2017?
It turns out that the company’s views on sharing your password have switched dramatically in the six years since.
Over the last few months, news has trickled out that Netflix has finally begun to clamp down on those sharing the password to their Netflix subscription with others. We learned last year that in several countries in Latin America, Netflix would test out its new tactics. In Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru, Netflix requires all devices to sign in at the account’s primary location every 31 days or else be locked out of the account. The service also offers a $2.99 add-on charge per month in those countries to cover up to two users on an account who don’t live at the primary location.
After reporting some success, Netflix now appears poised to implement that policy in other countries, including the United States.
Earlier this week, it was found on Netflix’s help center page that Netflix would implement the policy in the U.S. After the new policies were found and shared on social media, Netflix took them down and stated “For a brief time yesterday, a help center article containing information that is only applicable to Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru, went live in other countries. We have since updated it.”
These new policies from the streaming giant come as growth continues to slow for the company. While the streaming service added 26 million subscriptions in the first half of 2020, the post-Covid lockdown period has not been as kind. In the first half of 2022, the company lost over one million subscribers (although a slim majority of that was due to the service shutting down in Russia.) In last year’s fourth quarter, the service rebounded to add 7.7 million accounts.
But perhaps more importantly for the company, there was a period last year when its stock price was in the toilet. After starting 2022 at a share price of around $427, NFLX hit a low of around $175 in June. The stock has since rebounded to $365.90 after Friday’s stock market close, but last year’s turbulence pushed the need to cut costs and increase revenue.
As a result of all those factors, the crackdown on password sharing has finally begun.
So the question is, if Netflix goes through with its new policies, how will its customers react? Considering that the service estimates that over 100 million households in the U.S. and Canada share their Netflix log-ins, there’s going to be a lot of people having to make a decision.
Option 1: Pay up the extra $2.99 per month (if it’s even offered as an option, which is not a certainty at this point.)
Option 2: Get your own account if you are using someone else’s account.
Option 3: Just drop the service altogether and settle for one or several of the many other options now out there.
Obviously, Netflix would prefer you settle for options 1 or 2, and at least according to their internal metrics, users in the test countries have. But it is definitely a risk for the company that spearheaded the streaming revolution. If enough people choose option 3 and move on to competing services, either out of spite or because they aren’t willing or able to pay more, then Netflix will be in a worse spot than they were last year.
Time will tell what the future of password sharing on streaming services looks like.
For more information on this week’s top story, check out this article from The Washington Post - Netflix once said ‘love is sharing a password.’ Now users are heartbroken
What Zander’s been reading this week
SEC Football = An urbanist’s heaven? It seems like an unlikely match, but the two actually go perfectly together. Throughout the decades of a race to the American suburbs, there was one downtown staple that wouldn’t budge, SEC football stadiums. Now, as Americans are moving back to the cities, the southern cities home to SEC universities may be a great model of how to revive the American downtown.
Check out this week’s featured article on Sports Illustrated - Why SEC Football’s Fascinating Urbanism Provides a Blueprint for Sports Stadiums — (Link for article on Apple News)
Zander’s Facts Sporting Club
Here are the top headlines from the sports world in the ZF Sporting Club:
LeBron James: Basketball superstar LeBron James is now just 37 points away from breaking the NBA’s all-time leading scorer record. James is 36 points shy of tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387 career points after James’ Los Angeles Lakers fell 131-126 to the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night. James is expected to break the record in the next two games, which will be at home against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday and against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday. Both games will tip off at 10:00 pm et and air on TNT.
Tom Brady: NFL quarterback Tom Brady announced his retirement from football in a video posted to social media on Wednesday. Brady said in the video that he is retiring “for good” in a reference to last offseason when he famously announced his retirement and then unretired to play another season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. During his 23 seasons in the league, Brady won seven total Super Bowls, six with the New England Patriots and one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Last year, Brady signed a 10-year, $375 million contract to serve as the top NFL commentator for Fox Sports, although it’s unclear whether he will begin broadcasting next season.
Australian Open: Tennis’ Australian Open wrapped up last weekend, with Novak Djokovic winning the men’s final. In a straight-set victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas, Djokovic won his tenth Australian Open and his 22nd Grand Slam title, tying Rafael Nadal for most ever. In the women’s final, Aryna Sabalenka defeated Elena Rybakina in three sets to win her first singles Grand Slam title. Sabalenka, who was born in Belarus, was forced to compete as a neutral along with all Belarusian and Russian players.
NFL Pro Bowl Games: This year marks the first since 1938 that the NFL’s Pro Bowl Game will not take place. Instead, the league revamped this year’s event as the Pro Bowl Games, which include skills competitions and flag football games instead of a tackle football game. On Thursday night, the skills competitions took place, with events like dodgeball and precision passing being featured. On Sunday, the final skills competitions will take place, followed by the flag football games. Coverage of Sunday’s events starts at 3:00 pm et and will air on ESPN, ABC, ESPN+, and Disney XD.
NHL All-Star: The NHL held its All-Star Weekend in South Florida this weekend, with the Skills competitions being held on Friday and the All-Star Game taking place on Saturday. Among the top competitions on Friday, Brock Nelson of the New York Islanders won the Accuracy Shooting event, while Andrei Svechnikov of the Carolina Hurricanes won the Fastest Skater competition. On Saturday, the all-stars from the Atlantic Division claimed the crown in the All-Star Game, taking down the Central Division 7-5 in the final.
Rapid-fire Facts
These are top news headlines from the past week in rapid-fire fashion:
Chinese Spy Balloon: The U.S. military downed a Chinese surveillance balloon on Saturday off the Carolina coast. It was first revealed on Thursday that the balloon was floating over the U.S. in Montana. The balloon then traveled across the U.S. on Friday and Saturday, with the U.S. shooting it down once it was above the Atlantic ocean. China asserted on Friday that it was a civilian research balloon that had blown off course, although Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a statement that the balloon was used “in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States.”
January Jobs Report: The Labor Department reported on Friday that the U.S. economy added 517,000 jobs last month, far outpacing the estimate of 187,000 for January. The 517,000 jobs were the most added in one month since July 2022, while the unemployment rate dropped to 3.4%, its lowest point since May 1969. Also this week, the Fed raised its benchmark interest rate once again, but this time by just a quarter of a percent. The increase to the range of 4.50%-4.75% is the highest the benchmark interest rate has been since October 2007.
State of the Union: President Biden will give his second State of the Union address this Tuesday. It will be the first address for Biden under a Republican-controlled House of Representatives, one that will see House Speaker Kevin McCarthy sitting alongside Vice President Kamala Harris behind Biden. Biden’s speech will come as the White House and House Republicans have begun negotiations on raising the debt ceiling.
Covid Emergency Declaration: The Biden administration announced this week that it will allow the nationwide coronavirus public health emergency to expire on May 11. The public health emergency first began in January 2020 and has been ongoing for the past three years. After May 11, at-home Covid tests will no longer be provided for free through insurance, while new co-pays for Covid treatments like Paxlovid could become the norm. However, Covid vaccines will still be available for free for anyone on Medicaid, Medicare, or private insurance.
Democratic Primaries: The Democratic National Committee voted on Saturday to institute the largest change to the party’s presidential primary calendar in decades. In 2024, South Carolina will hold the party’s first primary on February 3, followed by Nevada and New Hampshire on February 6, Georgia on February 13, and Michigan on February 27. It will be the first time since 1968 that the Iowa caucus will not come first on the presidential primary calendar. The Republican National Committee voted last year to keep the previous primary schedule with Iowa and New Hampshire going first.
Wrapping up the Facts
Before this edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts wraps up, here’s another reminder to check out the latest episodes of the Zander’s Facts podcast. Download and listen to the latest episode of the podcast, along with every episode of Zander’s Facts, wherever you get your podcasts.
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You can also listen to every episode of the podcast on this very website. All Zander’s Facts podcast episodes are now available on zandersfacts.substack.com under the “Zander’s Facts” tab for your enjoyment. That includes the next episode of the Zander’s Facts podcast, which comes out this Wednesday!
That’s a wrap on this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts. The Facts in print return next Sunday, February 12, 2023.