Netflix password sharing cost

As many know, and as we talked about a week ago, Netflix has changed its stance on password sharing over the last few years.

Well, they have kind of changed their stance. They used to promote password sharing. Now, they are saying don't share. Except where they are saying you can pay to share.

Confusing? Welcome to the world of streaming.

Streaming itself is a great thing. Companies trying to find ways to get every dollar they can from you is not so great. And now that is happening in streaming.

To the point of this post, Netflix has announced the pricing for password sharing. It's not available in the USA yet, so they would rather you not share. But it's coming, and the pricing is available.

Netflix has four plans:

• Basic with Ads ($7/month)
• Basic ($10/month)
• Standard ($16/month)
• Premium ($20/month)

The cost of password sharing? That will be $8/month. And, you must have the Standard ($16/month) or higher plan to get a sharing add-on.

It would be cheaper to buy the kinds a Basic with Ads account.

The password sharing is rolling out in select countries, not the USA, and offers some restrictions and options that will make a few people unhappy:

So over the last year, we’ve been exploring different approaches to address this issue in Latin America, and we’re now ready to roll them out more broadly in the coming months, starting today in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain. Our focus has been on giving  members greater control over who can access their account.

• Set primary location: We’ll help members set this up, ensuring that anyone who lives in their household can use their Netflix account.
• Manage account access and devices: Members can now easily manage who has access to their account from our new Manage Access and Devices page.
• Transfer profile: People using an account can now easily transfer a profile to a new account, which they pay for — keeping their personalized recommendations, viewing history, My List, saved games and more.
• Watch while you travel: Members can still easily watch Netflix on their personal devices or log into a new TV, like at a hotel or holiday rental.
• Buy an extra member: Members on our Standard or Premium plan in many countries (including Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain) can add an extra member sub account for up to two people they don’t live with — each with a profile, personalized recommendations, login and password — for an extra CAD$7.99 a month per person in Canada, NZD$7.99 in New Zealand, Euro 3.99 in Portugal, and Euro 5.99 in Spain.

I see all kinds of problems with this, notably the fact that some ISPs will change your IP address, and even route you through different cities, fooling systems into thinking you are away from home, when you aren't. That will be a huge problem.

However, if you want to use Netflix after these changes roll out, you'll have these potential issues to address as part of your Streaming Life.

Good reception, bad location? No problem!

If you've looked into getting an antenna, but find that you don't get good reception on your main TV, but can get great reception on another TV in an inconvenient location, what do you do?

For example, suppose the reception in a guest bedroom is great, but in the living room, you only get a few channels. What then?

Well, you can do like I did and get a network connected Tablo.

The antenna is located on the side of the house, near a bathroom and guest bedroom. It's not located near the living room. But that's not a problem. In the guest bedroom, I have a network connected Tablo device. The antenna is connected there, and with the Tablo connected to the network, I can watch TV on any TV in the house. I use the Tablo app on my Roku. If you use Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, or Google/Android TV, you can use the Tablo app as well, and watch antenna TV on any of your TVs.

If this sounds like a commercial for Tablo, it's not. Well, it's not a paid ad. It's how I actually do this.

I was inspired to tell about this because of a Q&A post at the Tablo Website that talks about this very thing. The question is a little odd, because the questioner doesn't understand how things work. And what they're trying to ask makes sense, just how they asked it was awkward. But Tablo answered it, and what they said is essentially what I'm doing.

If you want to add a TV antenna to your Streaming Life, a Tablo is a great way to do just that.

Want to watch the best shows? Don't look to cable.

This got past me. It got past a lot of people. But Luke Bouma at Cord Cutters News noticed it several weeks after the fact, and that's where I saw it.

USA Today had a list of the best TV shows of 2022 back in December, and the top ten included no cable shows.

Well, you could say that one of them is available of cable, since it's on ABC, and most cable systems carry the broadcast networks. However, if you have an antenna and can pick up your local ABC station, you don't need cable to watch that one show. The other nine are all on streaming services:

1. Andor (Disney+)
2. Reservation Dogs (Hulu)
3. The White Lotos (HBO Max)
4. For All Mankind (Apple TV+)
5. Abbott Elementary (ABC)
6. Heartstopper (Netflix)
7. Pachinko (Apple TV+)
8. The Bear (Hulu)
9. Starstruck (HBO Max)
10. Bluey (Disney+)

I've not seen any of these shows. Well, I did watch the first two seasons of For All Mankind, but haven't seen the most recent season. And I've seen none of the others listed. I'll look into them.

If you haven't seen them because you don't stream TV, you are missing out. And spending more money than you should.

Oh, and if you say "Yeah, but to subscribe to all those services would cost more than cable" then you aren't doing it right. Subscribe to one service for a month and watch all the stuff you want on that service that month. Then cancel. And the next month, subscribe to something else. Do that over and over, and you still get to watch everything, and spend a lot less money.

My Streaming Life gives me lots of options. And I'm glad to see there are some good ones that I can look into. I'll be doing that soon.

Bally Sports RSNs finally on Fubo TV

A little while back, it was announced that Bally Sports Regional Sports Networks (RSNs) were being added to Fubo TV. There was no date announced, apart from "soon."

Well, "soon" has now arrived.

According to a report from Cord Cutters News, and verified by a visit to the Fubo.TV Website, Bally Sports RSNs are available on the service.

In my area, that means Bally Sports South and Bally Sports Southeast. And sure enough, there they are.

What I wasn't sure about was which plan would offer the RSNs. And it's the cheapest plan, the Pro, at $75/month.

While $75/month is a lot of money, it's cheaper than the DirecTV Stream service that carries the RSNs. The DirecTV Stream Choice plan is $100/month, a full $25 more than the FuboTV package. There are other benefits to the Choice plan, but if RSNs are all you want in your Streaming Life, the DirecTV Stream $75/month plan is the cheapest way to get that.

Sling TV newest price increase

Sling TV just recently upped its subscription cost. And now, for some people, it's going up again.

Don't worry, though, as only five markets are getting the additional price increase. It's a little confusing, but TV Answer Man Phillip Swann has all the details.

In five markets where Sling TV will offer Fox, ABC and NBC affiliates, the live streamer will increase the base price by $5 to $45 a month. The five markets are: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia and San Francisco.

Although Fresno, Houston and Raleigh-Durham will get ABC, too, Sling does not provide either Fox or NBC in those markets so they will not get the price increase. The rate hike is only for markets which will get all three network affiliates. (Sling TV has never carried CBS.)

Confusing? Yeah, maybe a little. But people threw a hissy fit when Sling TV lost ESPN for a weekend last fall. Sling gave in, and now the result of all that is that some will have to pay even more for TV.

Sling upped their subscription price after the ESPN dispute, and these ABC channels are causing more subscribers to pay more. Sling is holding the line and not raising prices again across the board, but is raising prices for the affected markets.

I hate price increases. But over the last two years, we've seen a lot of that, and it will likely get worse before it gets better. In the meantime, even though some of us have to pay more -- I don't -- we can still enjoy our Streaming Life at a reasonable cost.