Netflix

Representative image After years of turning a blind eye, Netflix is starting to get serious about password sharing. In 2016 on the cusp of subscriber growth, Netflix described password sharing as a "positive thing". It reasoned that people you share the password with eventually sign up for accounts. Fast forward to 2023. Netflix reported that its subscriber base has shrunk for the first time in a decade and said that password sharing was part of the problem. It doesn't help that the competition has grown significantly since 2016. In this fight for subscribers, Netflix will do anything to maintain its bottom line. The company said that "widespread account sharing (100M+ households) undermines our long-term ability to invest in and improve Netflix, as well as build our business." Read More Also Read | Netflix slammed for using AI artwork in anime instead of paying an animator Is password sharing illegal? That depends on who you ask. The … [Read more...] about Everything you need to know about Netflix’s password sharing crackdown

Representative image The UK's Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has said that users sharing passwords for streaming sites like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video or Disney+ are breaking the law. The UK IPO has collaborated with Meta for a counterfeit and piracy campaign, and one of the guidelines makes it clear that accessing streaming services without paying for subscription amounts to piracy. "Piracy is a major issue for the entertainment and creative industries," says the IPO in a post . "Accessing films, tv series or live sports," or using hacked devices to watch them, "without paying for a subscription is an infringement of copyright and you may be committing a crime." According to the IPO, this also extends to pasting images "without permission" on your social media accounts. The IPO draws comparisons to other lines of work saying, "When we go to work, we want to be paid - the creative industries are no different." Read More It takes the example of an … [Read more...] about Sharing passwords for streaming services like Netflix illegal: UK’s Intellectual Property Office

A still from the Netflix anime 'The Dog & The Boy' (Image: NetflixJP/Twitter) Netflix is facing backlash for using AI-generated artwork in its anime The Dog & The Boy rather than paying human artists. The controversy comes at a time when the art community is concerned about the rise of AI putting their jobs at risk, besides the contentious issue of copyright theft by AI image generators. Netflix ’s justification for using artificial intelligence to paint the backgrounds in The Dog & The Boy – that there is a shortage of labour in the anime industry – did not go down well on social media. The controversy snowballed when Netflix Japan shared a tweet announcing “As an experimental effort to help the anime industry, which has a labour shortage, we used image generation technology for the background images of all three-minute video cuts!” Netflix アニメ・クリエイターズ・ベース×技術開発のrinna株式会社×WIT STUDIOによる共同プロジェクトアニメ『犬と少年』のショートムービー。 … [Read more...] about Netflix slammed for using AI artwork in anime instead of paying an animator

Netflix shares fell more than 30 percent early Wednesday after the streaming company reported a drop in subscribers for the first time in a decade. Netflix shares plunged more than 35 percent early Wednesday following disappointing results, while the Dow pushed higher in a mixed open for US stocks. The streaming giant caught Wall Street off guard for the second quarter in a row, reporting a drop in subscribers for the first time in a decade. Also Read: Netflix to bite the advertising bullet, but can it unlock Indian market potential? Also Read: Netflix tumbles as 200,000 users exit for first drop in decade Read More The company blamed the quarter-over-quarter erosion to suspension of its service in Russia due to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The drop in shares was reminiscent of the prior quarter, when a weak subscriber outlook sent Netflix shares diving. Netflix' plunge especially weighed on the Nasdaq, which was down 0.7 percent at 13,522.73. … [Read more...] about Netflix shares plunge more than 30% on lost subscribers

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Netflix has plans to crack down on those subscribers who share their account with others. Earlier this week it looked like that crackdown was coming soon, causing some panic among sharers. However, it now seems there may be a respite for password sharers, for now, anyway. MORE FROM FORBES Apple Watch Ultra 2: New Leak Claims Dramatic Price Jolt By David Phelan Mind you, it will come and Netflix has previously said that it will arrive before the end of March. Kate O’Flaherty has a good explainer, here on Forbes. On Wednesday, Netflix posted guidelines on its U.S. and other websites which showed what the crackdown will involve, implying the restrictions were imminent, if not live. The page was later taken down. As reported in The Guardian , Netflix said, “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 … [Read more...] about Netflix Account Sharing May Still Be Safe For The Time Being

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin New reports are emerging from the sets of Netflix’s reality TV Squid Game show that paint a dire picture. Contestants report that the filming conditions for the show, based on the hit Korean Netflix drama, are often harsh and cold. “This is not a Bear Grylls survival show,” a contestant named John told Variety about one grueling filming session that ended up being exceptionally chilly. “If they had told us it was going to be that cold, no one would have gone through with it.” 456 contestants are competing for a $4.56 million prize, with each game “killing” off a bunch of hopefuls. For $4.56 million, I’m pretty sure plenty of people would have gone through with it, cold be damned. John was eliminated in the first round, however, along with roughly 227 other contestants. This is very similar to the first round of Squid Game, in which 255 of the 456 contestants were killed playing Red Light, Green Light. … [Read more...] about Netflix ‘Squid Game’ Reality TV Show Contestants Shocked That ‘Squid Game’ Isn’t Actually Fun

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin If you’re a fan of the new ghost-hunting drama Lockwood and Co. on Neflix, I think it may be time to start being at least a little bit concerned about its potential season 2 renewal. For starters, no, Netflix has not announced anything official about Lockwood and Co. yet, either cancelation or renewal for season 2. But watching the show’s performance, I’m a bit concerned. Why? Well, there’s the obvious, that we have seen Netflix cancel countless YA shows in the past, with very few running the gauntlet to survive to a second or third season. On the surface, Lockwood and Co. is exactly the type of show that Netflix is prone to cancel, and as such it would have to perform pretty extraordinarily to get noticed. I fear it is not performing well enough. Lockwood and Co. debuted at a decent #2 in the top 10 list, but it never reached number one and is already starting to fall fast, currently down to #5 in the US after … [Read more...] about Everything We Know About ‘Lockwood And Co’ Season 2 On Netflix

Organisational guru and star of Netflix's series 'Tidying Up', Marie Kondo. (Image credit: @MarieKondo/Twitter) The queen of decluttering from Japan, who introduced the world to how items "spark joy" through the Netflix series Tidying Up has revealed that she has given up on being tidy. Marie Kondo also admitted at a recent webinar that her home is messy but she is now focusing on family and not the physical household. The 38-year-old organisational guru gave birth to her third child in 2021. “Up until now, I was a professional tidier, so I did my best to keep my home tidy at all times,” she said in the recent webinar, Washington Post reported Thursday. “I have kind of given up on that in a good way for me... Now I realise what is important to me is enjoying time with my children at home.” Kondo, considered by millions as an authority on neatness while instructing eager cleaners to keep what “sparks joy” and trash the rest, also admitted that now, even she has trouble … [Read more...] about Decluttering queen Marie Kondo has ‘given up’ on being tidy: ‘My home is messy’

(Image Courtesy: Microsoft) The European Union (EU) has issued a formal antitrust warning to Microsoft over the $69 billion Activision Blizzard deal. The EU sent Microsoft a "statement of objections" on why the deal could threaten competition in the video games market, US-based Politico has reported. In response, Microsoft said that it was "listening carefully to the European Commission's concerns" and were confident that it could "address them". The Redmond-based technology giant said that it was committed to, "finding a path forward" so that it can close the deal. This is just the latest roadblock in what has been a rocky road for Microsoft to push the deal through. Also Read | Maybe Apple’s weakness isn’t just supply chain woes Read More In December 2022, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against Microsoft to stop the merger. The FTC brought up many of the same objections that the EU was concerned with. The bone of … [Read more...] about EU issues antitrust warning against Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal

People trying out different games at The Arena, Comic-Con, Bengaluru The year 2022 was a weird year for gaming. The industry continued to feel the lingering effects of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic with slower hardware sales and major delays for upcoming AAA games. Here is a look at some of the gaming highlights of 2022. More buggy launches Unfortunately, major AAA releases continued the trend of messy launches with games like Calisto Protocol or Gotham Knights. The year began with the dullest of thuds in Babylon's Fall, a half-baked unfinished co-op experience that showed Square Enix has learned nothing from its previous live service disasters. What hurt even more is that it was developed by industry darlings Platinum Games. Electronic Arts continued to release yearly installments in the FIFA franchise, and like every year, it was mocked but still sold in the millions. Thankfully, EA no longer holds the license to FIFA anymore. Read More Unfortunately, EA … [Read more...] about Gaming in 2022: A year in review