Netflix rolling out its password-crackdown in South Africa.

by Thinus Ferreira

Netflix has started to roll out the video streaming service's password crackdown in South Africa as part of its ongoing plans to try and convert content leechers globally to content payers.

In its latest quarterly report, Netflix noted that its password crackdown initiative it first started to test last year, is now truly going global since this week.

Netflix started its password crackdown - a process it calls "paid sharing" - across South American countries like Chile, Costa Rica and Pery last year, and followed it up in February this year by expanding it to Canada, Portugal, New Zealand, Spain and since May in the United States. 

Now it will be rolled out to virtually every other country Netflix is available in.

Netflix says it netted an additional 6 million subscribers in the quarter at the end of June and that a lot of the additional new subscribers are people it managed to convince to switch to pay for their own Netflix accounts after having borrowed and used the login details of family and friends.

Netflix's big rival in South Africa, MultiChoice, started its own password crackdown initiative in March last year by suddenly limiting DStv subscribers to just one online watch stream from an account. 

This move which was beset with technical problems was met with heavy criticism and backlash by DStv subscribers with MultiChoice that later last year said it was working on some corrections and changes. By mid-2023 no changes to the single concurrent DStv stream has yet been announced or implemented.

Netflix uses a combination of checking for IP addresses and device ID details to determine whether various Netflix account logins are coming roughly from the same location, meaning the same household.

In its Q2 quarterly report, Netflix notes that it will now be expanding its password crackdown initiative to "almost all" of its remaining countries, saying that "we're rolling out paid sharing to almost all of the remaining countries".

MultiChoice cracks down on password-sharing, limits DStv streaming to one device.

by Thinus Ferreira

In an attempt to crack down on password-sharing and pirate-viewing, MultiChoice will limit DStv video streaming to one device at a time from 22 March.

From 22 March MultiChoice will no longer allow a DStv subscriber to stream DStv Catch Up content - either library content or a linear TV channel as a live stream - on more than one device at the same time.

ALSO READ: No more soaps and soccer at the same time: DStv subscribers outraged over MultiChoice's live-stream limiting decision.

MultiChoice only told its own staffers on Tuesday about the decision, shortly before posting a notification to DStv subscribers on the MultiChoice website. 

MultiChoice didn't bother to tell the media or to communicate through emailing a basic press release detailing the changes from its own corporate communications team or the two PR companies, Duma Collective or JR Communications that MultiChoice has on retainer and pay to liaise with the media.

In a memorandum to MultiChoice staff on Tuesday, Nyiko Shiburi, MultiChoice South Africa CEO said that streaming services like that which MultiChoice provides, are challenged by password-sharing and piracy.

"This has a devastating effect on the growth of the entertainment industry generally. Therefore, streaming providers are compelled to take steps to address these activities."

Nyiko Shiburi said that MultiChoice is clamping down on allowing its customers from watching more than one live stream from 22 March 2022 and that "We will be communicating to customers regarding this today".

On its DStv website, MultiChoice later on Tuesday said "Password sharing and piracy are challenges for streaming providers globally".

"As part of our ongoing efforts to counteract password sharing and piracy, while continuing to bring you the best viewing experience, we will be introducing measures to limit concurrent streaming. From 22 March 2022 customers will be limited to streaming DStv on one device at a time. They will still be able to watch previously downloaded content on a second device."

MultiChoice says the change is being made to all DStv subscriptions across Africa but that "only customers making use of more than one concurrent stream will be directly affected by the change."

MultiChoice says the pay-TV operator "will not limit the number of people using a login, however, we are limiting (to one) the number of people who can stream at the same time."

If for instance, someone in a household is watching live streaming of a linear TV channel, someone else in the household won't be able to watch an episode of a series on another device or do binge-watching.

MultiChoice says that offline viewing is not impacted by this change and that the number of devices a DStv subscriber can have registered for streaming does not change with up to 4 registered devices that are allowed.

Showmax subscribers are not impacted and the change only applies when streaming DStv.

ALSO READ: No more soaps and soccer at the same time: DStv subscribers outraged over MultiChoice's live-stream limiting decision.

ALSO READ: What DStv's digital one-stream viewing limit is - and isn't.

ALSO READ: MultiChoice Q&A on new DStv live-stream limit clampdown: No 'family plan' for DStv streaming.

ALSO READ: Analysts: 'Complete lack of foresight': MultiChoice in trouble without sport and local content while its new live-stream clampdown limit to just 1 stream might force DStv subscribers to rivals like Netflix.