NETFLIX TO START CANCELLING SUBSCRIPTIONS ON INACTIVE ACCOUNTS

Netflix has begun to clean its database and is asking subscribers that haven’t been using the service to confirm whether they want to continue their subscription. “We’re asking everyone who has not watched anything on Netflix for a year since they joined to confirm they want to keep their membership,” Eddy Wu, Director of Product Innovation and part of the Netflix Product Innovation team, said in a blog post. “And we’ll do the same for anyone who has stopped watching for more than two years.”

The platform will start asking customers who haven’t used its platform in the past year if they want to keep their subscriptions. If a customer doesn’t respond, Netflix will automatically cancel the subscription, though it will be possible to reactivate it at a later date. The same will apply to anyone who has not watched anything for two years. Subscribers will start seeing the emails or in-app notifications this week. 

The decision was announced by the streaming giant on Thursday and was referred to as a measure of confidence in Netflix’s value proposition for customers. The move may help Netflix stand out against rivals in the market, which include Disney+, NBCUniversal’s Peacock, which has a free ad-supported tier), and WarnerMedia’s upcoming HBO Max. “These inactive accounts represent less than half of one percent of our overall member base, only a few hundred thousand, and are already factored into our financial guidance,” explained Wu. “The last thing we want is people paying for something they’re not using,” 

Netflix reported 183 million subscribers at the end of the first quarter. The company said that its inactive accounts represent less than half of 1% of its overall member base and are already factored into its financial guidance. The company saw a huge spike in subscriber count in the past quarter, since stay-at-home orders implemented due to the pandemic has kept many people at home.