Unfair Action? Netflix is ​​abolishing the free period - but only in Germany

Netflix is ​​not free, but potential new customers have been able to test the service for a few days free of charge. This option has now been abolished.

• A trial month made it possible to test Netflix * free of charge for 30 days .
• The streaming service has now abolished this option.
• The reasons for this are not known - but there are some speculations.

Does Netflix offer content that suits personal taste? If you want to get an overview of all the films and series on the platform, you will hardly find any external pages that fully list what is on offer. Interested parties often had no choice but to create an account. The advantage : Thanks to a free trial month of 30 days , you didn't have to pay any money at first.

This option should make a paid subscription appealing to potential new customers, because if you want to stream more than 30 days, money will be debited after the time has elapsed. A strategy that Netflix has now adopted: The free trial month is no longer available in Germany - and the streaming giant does not want to reveal the reasons for this.

Netflix is ​​abolishing the trial month - but not everywhere

If you want to test Netflix , you have to pay for it immediately. If new customers are dissatisfied, they can also cancel a subscription on a monthly basis . It's similar with Disney + : A few weeks ago, the free trial period was also abolished. Of the best-known streaming services, only Prime Video offers a free phase.

The sudden decision of Netflix is quite puzzling: As reported by Golem.de, among others, the trial period will continue to be offered in Switzerland and the USA, for example. This option is also still open to interested parties in Austria - but the subscription prices have been increased there.

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Why did Netflix abolish the trial period?

Netflix has not yet commented on the reasons . As a result, it is also unclear whether too many people have used the free trial period to access the platform for free for a longer period of time. In theory, this would be possible, provided that different email addresses and payment methods are given when setting up an account.

At the same time, there could be economic reasons behind it: Since Netflix is now probably the largest and best-known streaming service and does not offer overpriced tariffs, a trial period to attract new customers may no longer be necessary. At least that is what Disney argued when the free phase of Disney + was crushed. (soa) * tz.de is part of the Ippen-Zentral-Netzwerk.

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