Netflix Streaming Limit Reportedly Allows Only One Movie At A Time (UPDATE)

UPDATE:

In an email to tech website GigaOM, Netflix denied that they were limiting users to one stream-per-account. They wrote:

“No Netflix member is limited to less than two concurrent streams. A few Netflix members have heard differently from us, which is an error that we are correcting.”

Good news for families and friends sharing accounts, if true.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Call up your mom, your dad, your roommates, your neighbors and anyone else you're sharing your Netflix account with. The company is apparently only allowing customers to stream one movie at a time per account.

According to the Internet watchdogs at Stop The Cap, several Netflix users have reported seeing an error message when trying to watch a movie at the same time as someone who shares their account. Here is a screen capture of the horrific error message:

A simple Google search shows that the error message has been showing up as far back as 2009, though Stop The Cap claims that the limit is now being enforced more heavily. Mashable says that the rules only apply to movies: In their tests, they were able to watch two television shows at once, and a movie and a TV show at the same time, but not two movies. (And, as you can see in the screenshot above, the error message does specify to stop playing one "movie").

From the Netflix Help Desk, here are the rules on the number of streams you can watch at once:

Some membership plans allow you to watch simultaneously on more than one personal computer or Netflix-ready device. If you are on the Unlimited Streaming plan, the Unlimited Streaming + 1 DVD out-at-a-time plan or a limited streaming plan, you may watch only one device at a time. If you are on the Unlimited Streaming + 2 DVDs out-at-a-time plan, you may watch on up to two devices at a time. Members on the Unlimited Streaming + 3 DVDs out-at-a-time plan may watch on up to three devices at a time. The maximum is four devices at a time -- available for members on the Unlimited Streaming + 4-or greater DVDs out-at-a-time plan.

This news on streaming limits comes during a busy week for Netflix. They have started their expansion into 43 Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries, including Brazil and Mexico, hot on the heels of letting Starz walk away from the table on contract renewal negotiations, which means that Netflix will lose about 1,000 Starz movies from its Instant Play streaming library in February 2012.

Netflix has not made any official announcement about these reports of streaming caps; their public relations page is currently non-existent, but when it reappears, we'll reach out for a statement and update here.

If you share your Netflix account with another person or several people, we want to hear from you. Have you noticed Netflix enforcing a streaming limit for movies? Let us know in the comments.

Comments

[Hyi Sook Kim]

11:43 PM on 10/17/2011

I never had an issue with streaming on more than one device at the same time... until this evening. When I got a message stating I had to stop streaming on another device in order to continue watching on my current device. I'm a little upset, because when I paid for this service I understood that I could watch on as many devices as I wanted. Now I'm being told that I can have 6 devices activated, but can only watch on 2 at a time. If all the devices are in the same household coming off the same IP address then I should be able to stream on all those devices. Why let me "activate" 6 devices (all off the same IP) if I can really only watch on 2 at a time. I have a large family and we rarely agree on what to watch and this is a deal breaker for me.

I don't like being mislead and then being jacked around until I opt to pay more for a service I won't use...Add DVD's and you get to stream from more devices at once... what a bunch of bull****! Why would I pay more to rent DVD's (that I don't use) just to STREAM from 1 more device. Plus, all the shows/movies on netflix (streaming) are pretty old or from previous seasons. Is Hulu the same?... do they limit your streaming devices?

[Travis Best]

08:00 PM on 11/03/2011

Netflix first jacked up their prices, so I said I'll just do without the dvd's and just have the streaming. But now I was watching netflix and my niece was then all the sudden it said your watching to many movies turn one off. I called and netflix said that has always been a company policy but they are really starting to crack down on it now. So I said "I am cracking down on my spending so you just lost a customer" And the Customer Service Associate didn't even care. She said "Ok have a nice day" and a survey came into the phone. Are you kidding me? Rating AWEFUL! I'm done with Netflix.

[smurfyabs]

10:27 PM on 10/01/2011

I've never had issue streaming on more than one device at a time. Roku, PS3, Wii, and computer user.

[J Nauman]

11:52 PM on 09/11/2011

I've been using Netflix since August 2000. I've been happy until now. We were streaming up to 3 at a time until recently. Now the streaming is pretty crappy quality and often it simply just cuts off. I haven't wanted to leave Netflix mostly because I like keeping the DVD list. Since we don't need more than 4 DVDs in a month, I decided to go with the streaming only plan. We tend to find DVDs to watch from Red Box and the public library. The extra cost per month didn't warrant the need. Our kids use streaming mostly so we thought we could still use that part of Netflix. As of last night I'm thinking of dropping completely. The one movie we were streaming cut off 30 minutes into it and we couldn't play it again or any other movie. We kept getting a Netflix message to try again later. Not only that, our movie list is completely gone from the website. I'm ready to jump ship. Netflix is opening the door for it's competitors! It won't be long before someone comes up with a better service. Even if it's slightly more expensive, it'll be much better than this sucky plan!!

[TheOuroborus]

01:10 AM on 09/09/2011

They lie. I've never been able to watch streaming on my laptop while my wife watches on the TV through our Roku box. I'm done with Netflix.

[Freedom Rush]

10:55 PM on 09/08/2011

Maybe I don't get what the uproar is all about, but as a looong time customer who just terminated their account because of the 100% price increase for the streaming and DVD plan, I still don't have a problem with them limiting streaming access to two pc's at a time.

Otherwise you could have dozens of people using the same account and that wouldn't be fair.

I'm still looking for an alternative to Netflix though. Hulu Plus was a dud, and Blockbuster? i don't know...still shopping.

[tr26]

10:38 PM on 09/08/2011

C'mon people! Netflix isn't a necessity; It's a luxury. If the price is too dear for the product, stop buying it. If it's still worth it to you, keep buying it. There's no entitlement, no loyalty, no special relationship here, just business. That means you, the consumer, are in power. Buy or don't buy, it's up to you.

[onlythetruthcounts]

03:48 PM on 09/08/2011

Only one stream works in my house. So that makes this headline.... true. Sometimes you have to guess.

[m66]

03:28 PM on 09/08/2011

Note how quick people are to believe such a rumor. Netflix has tarnished (perhaps poisoned) their brand for many.

[DegenerationX316]

07:50 AM on 09/08/2011

Netflix is the devil that is why the envelopes are red.

[Glenn Lynch]

05:23 AM on 09/08/2011

The only problems I have ever had with netflix has been the increasingly poor selection on streaming and when they did an update that was pretty ugly on the ps3. They fixed the update and I am not sure they are solely responsible for the selection, but please can we lay off the the 1300 hundred b rated sci fi original horror movies and start getting some better shows on there. Surely there has to be something netflix can do to get decent movies on there again.

[Rhonda McEntire]

03:47 AM on 09/08/2011

What bugs me is that I signed up for a particular service that has migrated, evolved and put the pressure on me to pay more and more....just like cable has, just like the phone company has, just like satalite did, but I am no sucker... magic jack works, and as long as I pay for high speed internet I can download just about any rerun I want to watch and if I get bored with that I can go to the library and check out DVD's there (or just get a book which is usually better anyway). And lastly, MagicJack...need I say more? Yes, NetFlix had better do some shopping or make a deal to spend some of my money making Starz happy. Or they better go back to cheap, cheap streaming...otherwise, me and dare I say many others are taking our business elsewhere.

[Rhonda McEntire]

03:46 AM on 09/08/2011

I started with NetFlix early on and have been a loyal customer from the start. It was wonderful paying $9.99 a month and having DVD's shipped to my home (initially 3 at a time) and having the ability to choose any show or movie, including things like 'Weeds' or another favorite 'Grey's Anatomy' and also catching shows that were short run like 'The Riches.'
The first change came with reducing the number of DVD's I could get per month for my same $9.99, now I can only get two at a time. Okay, I could handle that.
Then they said that I now have to pay for each service separately...now my bill for DVD's and Steaming is about $18.00 a month. I have been thinking about canning the DVD's, but have held on, knowing that the company is trying to figure out how to keep Starz on board. I figured to bail on them now would mean more hikes for me later on. So, I hang in there...and now I hear this...that Starz is out. Listen, RedBox has movies for $1.00 each per day. For $18.00 -18 NEW movies per month! I am not going to watch reruns that I can get under my cable plan, or old movies I can get for free at the local library and pay for it through NetFlix. If they cut Starz, I am as good as gone.

[Freedom Rush]

11:01 PM on 09/08/2011

i'm already gone Rhonda, and my history with the company is very close to yours.

i just couldn't get over the feeling of being jacked around. they should have left old customers at their contracted rate and charged new customers at the higher rate...something... i don't know, except that i was loyal to them, and i feel that they totally screwed me. so buh bye.

[jaredbrain]

02:52 AM on 09/08/2011

So Netflix has started the long march towards giant evil corporation.

[Danek Greori]

01:44 AM on 09/08/2011

Is one of Netflix's competitors paying HuffPo to write this kind of dribble? Ever since Netflix was forced into raising their prices (by a measely $5) due to incresed pressure from content providers like HBO, Startz, etc... it seems like HuffPo, and the easily manipulated American public have been on some kind crusade against Netflix.

[Freedom Rush]

11:02 PM on 09/08/2011

are you now or have you ever been a netflix customer?

[Danek Greori]

07:37 PM on 09/18/2011

Currently a netflix customer, and I still LOVE Netflix.

[NonPrawf]

12:06 AM on 09/08/2011

I will send Netflix my hate mail.