Strange Thing: Netflix To Inexplicably Kill Off Dormant Accounts

Video streaming platform Netflix, on May 21 (Thursday), announced that it will cancel the subscriptions of all accounts which have been inactive for a year.

The over-the-top (OTT) platform will also send out emails or in-app notifications to all such customers, asking if they would like to keep the subscription. In case there is no confirmation from the user, the platform will automatically delete the accounts.

However, the customers can restart their subscription within the next 10 months and access their favorites, profiles, viewing preferences, and account details. The customers can also get back on Netflix post 10 month period, but would have to build their profile and consumption chart again.

Eddy Wu from Product Innovation at Netflix, in its press release, highlighted that inactive accounts represent only a few hundred thousand users, who make up for less than half of 1% of Netflix’s overall member base. Netflix also noted that such accounts are already factored into its financial guidance.

Netflix’s announcement comes at a time when online streaming and OTT platforms are gaining  traction due to lockdowns across the world. There is a 55% increase in overall streaming traffic in India alone, according to the ‘State of Internet Traffic Trend’ report by ACT Fibernet.

Interestingly, unlike pre-Covid times, there is no significant difference in traffic during weekdays and weekends. On the contrary, the platforms are noting a much greater hike on the weekdays. The report highlights that there is a 73% hike on weekdays and a 65% increase during the weekend, the report added.

According to Datalabs Inc42 report which measures the impact of Covid-19 on the Indian startup ecosystem, Netflix has noted a 73% increase in total session time, followed by Amazon Prime Video (47%) and MX Player (27%), between February 5 to March 29, 2020. Overall, people were spending an average of 82.4 minutes on video streaming platforms between March 15 to 21, compared to 58.3 minutes in the first week of March.

There are more than 35+ video OTT players in India, catering to a subscription-based user base of 53.1 Mn, as of November 2019. Meanwhile, more than 11 local and international players marked their entry in this space in 2019.

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