Netflix Experiences Increase in Subscribers Despite Password-Sharing
(Reuters) – Netflix sign-ups in the U.S. remain high despite falling from a record high in June after video streaming pioneer Pioneer’s crackdown on shared passwords took effect in May, according to data from research firm Antenna.
“Love is password sharing,” Netflix had posted on X, then known as Twitter, in 2017, but its global crackdown on password sharing signaled its strategy to unlock new revenue streams in a saturated, competitive market.
Attracting new subscribers and keeping old ones has become a difficult task in the past few years, as customers now have plenty of options — including Walt Disney’s streaming service, Amazon.com’s Amazon Prime Video and Warner Bros Discovery’s Max.
Netflix shares rose 1.7% during early trading.
Wall Street had raised concerns that password sharing could dampen subscriber growth. However, Netflix’s hit did manage to revive its user additions.
Antenna said the video streaming company’s subscriber numbers fell 25.7% in July compared to the previous month. But its 2.6 million gross additions in July were overall higher than normal, it added.
Netflix had said last year that it would limit account sharing and test different approaches in some markets.
The company estimated that more than 100 million households had shared their login information with friends and family outside their home. This has led analysts to expect that around 50 million users will eventually create their own account.
About 23% of users who signed up in July opted for the cheaper ad-supported Netflix plan — the highest since the plan’s launch in November — up 4 percentage points from a month earlier, Antenna said.
The research firm obtains its streaming data from transaction records such as online purchase receipts and bank details.
