Netflix trials payment tiers for multiple users

Netflix is testing a new pricing model based on the number of people who can operate an account, as the web TV firm looks to expand its appeal to families.


The move means selected customers pay more if increased number of people log in to the account at the same time.
Users would pay $6.99 (£4.26) a month to use one screen to watch a TV show or film. This would rise to $9.99 if three screens were being used simultaneously.
The company said it is was only testing these options for some new users.
Currently subscribers pay a monthly fee of $7.99 for a standard service that allows them to watch different shows or movies on two screens at once.
There is also an upgraded-account version available for $11.99 where customers can watch across four screens. When Netflix’s chief executive Reed Hastings announced this option in April he said he expected fewer than one per cent of customers to sign up.
Netflix currently has 40 million subscribers around the world. Its growth has been helped by its self-commissioned programmes including the political drama House of Cards and prison series Orange is the New Black.
Its most recent figures indicate that Netflix users watched five billion hours of films and television shows in the three months to September 2013.