Netflix Account Sharing Add-on Blocked by UK ISP Pay TV Bundles

Netflix’s crackdown on password sharing in the UK has finally revealed why they needed to discuss the matter with several major UK broadband ISPs (i.e. those that bundle their service with Pay TV products), including Sky Broadband, BT, Virgin Media and TalkTalk (here). The new extra member and profile transfer features won’t work on such packages.

The internet video streaming giant recently made it harder for customers to share accounts with people (family, friends etc.) outside your own household, but to balance against that they also introduced a new “Add an extra member” feature. As the name suggests, this enabled customers to share their account with somebody outside their household, albeit for an additional £4.99 per month.

In addition, Netflix also introduced a new “Transfer a profile” feature for anyone on a customer’s existing account to use. This can be used to make a new and separate paid membership for the profile, and without losing all of your profile information.

The problem with these new features, which is only now becoming clear, is that those who have bundled Netflix into a single Pay TV package and bill – usually via their broadband ISP – may not be able to use them. For example, the related FAQ page on BT’s website (here) states this:

BT’s Netflix FAQ Page

Can I transfer a profile into a new Netflix account that is paid for through BT or linked to a BT package?

BT billing and/or Netflix Packages cannot be used to create an account with Profile Transfer. Please visit the Netflix Help Center for more information.

Can I add an Extra Member to my account if I’m billed by BT?

Extra Members cannot be added to Netflix accounts paid through BT. Please visit the Netflix Help Center for more information.

Sky has a similar FAQ page (here), which states: “As your Netflix account is linked to your Sky bill, you won’t be able to share it with a different household by adding extra members. This option is currently only available through Netflix directly. People who are not in your household will need to go to the Netflix website to sign up for their own Netflix account.”

A quick check of TalkTalk’s site found something similar: “If you pay for Netflix through your TalkTalk bill, you’ll be unable to add an extra member to your account or complete a profile transfer.” So far as we can tell, Virgin Media (VMO2) also have the same stance. In other words, the ability to add an extra member and transfer profiles on Netflix currently only works for those who are being billed directly by the streaming giant.

Naturally, that’s a much bigger problem than we originally anticipated, since it means that those taking Netflix – often at a discount – as part of a bundle from their broadband / Pay TV provider will lack the new account flexibility. As a result, account sharers could potentially be blocked in the future, and lose their profile history / settings.