Blockbuster calls out Netflix’s password-sharing policies – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Blockbuster may be almost dead, but they’re laughing at Netflix’s new attack on password sharing from beyond the grave.

The once revolutionary video rental chain only has one franchise location left, but their social media team is apparently still running based on a Thursday tweet from the company targeting their one-time competitor.

After months of speculation, Netflix officially informed customers on Tuesday that accounts will only be shared within one household. This policy change effectively ends the long practice of friends and family sharing the cost of one account, often from different parts of the country.

This crackdown on password sharing is a response to increasing competition and the recent loss of new subscribers, a first for the company in more than 10 years.

Since its founding in 1997, the company has emerged as a giant among men in the streaming service, completely transforming the entertainment industry over the past decade with award-winning original content. They have since been joined by services such as Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+ and the recently renamed Max.

This boom in streaming came at the expense of Blockbuster, which in its prime boasted more than 9,000 locations and 80,000 employees. Suffering heavy losses throughout the late 2000s, they finally filed for bankruptcy in 2010 and were purchased by Dish Network the following year.

As of 2019, Bend, Oregon remains home to the last franchise store.

The memo Netflix sent out to members said they can transfer a profile to someone outside their household so they can start their own membership on a separate payment plan or pay an extra $7.99 for each person outside the household using their account.

The company also said that 100 million households share accounts, making up 43% of its global user base.