It's Wild How Much Money Netflix Will Make by Eliminating Password Sharing

How many people are using your Netflix password?

You don't have to say it out loud, but think on it. We all know someone, or maybe we are someone, who is sharing their Netflix account with someone else.

It's sort of how Netflix became such a phenomenon in the first place. It was like a chain letter of content you could allow your friends to watch and share. But Netflix got so big, and so many people started sharing passwords, that they realized they were leaving a lot of revenue on the table. 

Until now.

Last week, we covered that Netflix was testing out eliminating password sharing in some Latin American countries. Now, experts have weighed in on what it might make the company if it embraced it worldwide. 

According to estimates by Cowen & Co. analysts, they think the company can add about $1.6 billion in global revenue annually. That's an intense amount of upside. 

Of course, that estimate is based on there being people outside of households who are across family, significant other, and friendship lines. While they can't be totally sure just how many that involves, they estimate millions. And out of that number, they assumed that about half of non-paying, Netflix password-sharing households would become paying members. 

It seems hard for Netflix to pass that much money up. But only time will tell. Share your passwords while you still can. 

Let us know what you think in the comments.