Netflix’s Password Sharing Restrictions Showing Results

Despite some users canceling their Netflix accounts due to the crackdown on password sharing, the company appears to be benefiting from the move. Antenna, an analytics firm, has reported a significant increase in account sign-ups for Netflix since the rule was implemented in late May across the US and other regions.

Antenna says Netflix had the four biggest single sign-up days in the US in the four and a half years it’s been tracking the data. On May 26th and 27th, there were almost 100,000 registrants each day. For each of the four days, the company saw an average of 73,000 new memberships, according to Antenna, which noted that the figure was 102 percent higher than the previous 60-day average.

While account cancellations also increased during that time, Antenna said signups far exceeded those numbers. This was the largest increase in new Netflix account signups in the US since the COVID-19 lockdown began in March and April 2020, Antenna noted.

It is worth remembering that this is not official data from Netflix. We’ll have a clearer idea of how the account split changes will begin to affect Netflix’s bottom line when the company reports its next quarterly earnings, likely in mid-July. However, as Yahoo Finance points out, Netflix’s stock price rose after the Antenna announcement. ReturnByte has reached out to Netflix for comment.

Netflix began a trial crackdown on account sharing in Latin America before rolling out the new rules in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain in February. US subscribers now have to pay an extra $8 per month for viewers using the account from outside the household, but you can still watch when you’re away from home. Users have the option to transfer an existing profile to a new account to keep all their settings and information intact.