Netflix Inc. (NFLX), the largest subscription streaming service, is testing new prices based on the number of people who can use an account, a move that could force customers to pay more for additional family members. 
 
 Netflix is offering some new customers plans that provide access on as many as four screens, letting household members watch different shows at the same time. The monthly prices range from $6.99 to $11.99, according to an offer posted on the Los Gatos, California-based company’s website. 
 
 If successful, the pricing plans could be expanded to more customers. The test suggests Netflix, with more than 40 million subscribers, is looking for ways to curb account sharing while providing viewers with more ways to watch, just as cable TV operators rent additional set-top boxes to households. 
 
 “I am sure that they have the ability to monitor device use,” said Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles, who has an underperform rating on the stock. “I admire their resolve to try to combat piracy. This is an ingenious solution.” 
 
 The standard Netflix streaming service costs $7.99 a month, according to the company’s website. The DVD by mail subscription starts at $7.99 for one disc at a time. 
 
 Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg Netflix is offering some new customers plans that provide access on as many as four screens, letting household members watch different shows at the same time. Close Netflix is offering some new customers plans that provide access on as many as four... Read More Close Open Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg Netflix is offering some new customers plans that provide access on as many as four screens, letting household members watch different shows at the same time. 
 
 “We test all the time in an effort to come up with better options for consumers,” Jonathan Friedland, a spokesman for Netflix, said in a phone interview yesterday. “There are numerous tests at any given time.” 
 
 Netflix announced plans for the $11.99-a-month service in April, with Reed Hastings, chairman and chief executive officer, saying at the time he expected fewer than 1 percent of customers to upgrade. 
 
 Fourfold Gain 
 
 Netflix, the top-performing stock in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) this year, has almost quadrupled as the company beat earnings estimates and outpaced analysts’ estimates for subscriber growth. The shares rose 0.3 percent to $368.17 at the close in New York. 
 
 One possible risk for the company is that customers downgrade to the one-screen, $6.99-a-month option rather than pay for a higher level of service. 
 
 “If $6.99 enables Netflix to reach more consumers than $7.99 that’s obviously positive but it’s hard to imagine the $1 being a major price inhibitor,” said Richard Greenfield, an analyst at BTIG LLC who has a neutral rating on the stock. “If consumers who would have taken the $7.99 plan now sign up at $6.99, that all comes out of their profit margin. This is not the next pricing move investors were expecting.” 
 
 The company also said it is terminating a poison pill anti-takeover defense, effective yesterday, almost two years ahead of schedule. Investors aren’t required to take any action as a result of the change, the company said in a statement. 
 
 Market Value 
 
 The poison pill, designed to make an unfriendly takeover too expensive, was adopted in November 2012 after billionaire Carl Icahn disclosed a stake in the company. The measure was set to expire in November 2015. 
 
 The move signals Netflix’s board is less concerned about a hostile takeover after this year’s advance, which has increased the company’s market value to $21.7 billion. The board unanimously voted to adopt the poison pill days after Icahn acquired almost 10 percent of the company. He sold about half his shares Oct. 10, suggesting a gain of about $800 million. 
 
 Netflix also disclosed 2014 pay packages yesterday for its senior officers. Hastings will receive $3 million in salary and a $3 million stock-option allowance. 
 
 His 2013 pay amounted to $2 million in salary and a $2 million option allowance, according to company filings. 
 
 To contact the reporter on this story: Andy Fixmer in Los Angeles at afixmer@bloomberg.net 
 
 To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net 

 Netflix has begun offering some new customers a $6.99-per-month streaming plan, which is $1 cheaper than its regular $7.99 fee. But there are two significant drawbacks that come with the new option. First, the $6.99 plan only supports standard definition, meaning you won't be able to watch a single movie or TV show in HD. Second, customers who choose the new plan can only stream content on one device at a time. (Netflix's regular plan allows two concurrent streams, with an $11.99 "family plan" supporting up to four simultaneous streams.) 
 
 According to Adweek, a Netflix representative told one customer that the company plans to test the cheaper, basic plan among new users before making it available on a wider basis. We've been able to confirm the offer firsthand — it appears after you've signed up for a month of free streaming. We've reached out to Netflix for additional comment. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Update: In a statement to The Verge, Netflix has confirmed that the single-stream $6.99 offer is only visible to a small subset of users. "Not everyone will see this and we may never offer it generally," said a company spokesperson. "Whether we offer any of these tiers generally will depend on the results of the tests. We always look to offer services that make our members happier as measured by how much they use Netflix." Netflix says a $9.99-per-month price point that allows streaming on three devices simultaneously is also in testing with some users.
– Netflix is trying out a new payment scheme that will make users pay for each screen they want to stream to simultaneously. Some new customers are being asked to choose between a one-user, one-screen option for $6.99, a two-screen plan for $7.99, and a four-screen plan for $11.99, Bloomberg reports. The move seems to be an effort to crack down on account sharing and generate more revenue from families. The risk, of course, is that some users on the current $7.99-per-month standard streaming plan would downgrade to $6.99. "That all comes out of their profit margin," says one analyst. "This is not the next pricing move investors were expecting." But the Verge notes that the $6.99 option is for standard definition viewing only, which could turn off many HD-loving customers. "Not everyone will see this and we may never offer it generally," a spokesperson added, while confirming that some users are also seeing a $9.99 three-screen option.