Netflix is reaching out to all the "families" butting up against its current two-simultaneous-streams limit with a plan that shows the streaming service understands how viewers actually want to use it. It knows we want to share, and that in fact sharing can be good for Netflix too.

In today's first-quarter earnings letter (.pdf), Netflix announced a $12-a-month plan that doubles the current limit of two simultaneous video streams to four simultaneous feeds plan. Netflix says that the plan best serves large families that have butted up against the two simultaneous-stream limit. It also says that it expects less than one-percent of members to take advantage of the plan.

"The core focus is on the immediate family. We don't think there's much going on with sharing password with a marginal acquaintance," said David Wells, Netflix CFO during the earnings call.

While it's nice of Netflix to recognize large families, in reality the subscription model is probably aimed more towards roommate situations, families with kids at college and the Netflix users that have shared their password with half of their circle of friends.

While sharing your account details with friends that don't live in your home makes you amazingly cheap (seriously, it's only $8 a month), sharing an account with your live-in roommates makes sense.

This new four-stream subscription would allow households with up to four viewers to watch different videos while hiding out in their bedrooms. Roommates are already sharing the electric, cable, and internet access bill. Paying a bill that allows everyone in the household watch Netflix without being concerned about a video stopping mid-scene makes sense.

This plan could also reduce future drop-off rates as it allows college students to continue to use their parents' account while away at school. These kids are probably more likely to be converted into paying customers at some point if they have a great Netflix experience, rather than hitting a wall every time they're the third stream.

So while publicly Netflix says this new subscription plan is for large families, in reality, the company is probably making sure that its subscription service reaches as many people as possible while charging a slight premium to help pay for all those episodes of House of Cards.