As promised, Netflix followed through on its plans to crack down on password sharing, and it appears to be working exactly as planned. Despite a social media backlash, the streaming giant has already seen a boost in subscriber numbers, according to early data. In fact, the numbers of daily sign-ups for Netflix is reportedly higher than during the start of the COVID pandemic when streaming companies had a captive audience thanks to lockdowns and the need for social distancing.
The data comes from the research company Antenna, which claims in a new report that Netflix has had “the four single largest days of U.S. user sign-ups since January 2019.”
Via Variety:
Based on the most current Antenna data available, Netflix saw average daily sign-ups reached 73,000 from May 25-28, a 102% increase from the prior 60-day average. That was more than the spikes in subscriber sign-ups Antenna recorded during the initial U.S. COVID-19 lockdowns in March and April 2020.
However, Antenna reports that Netflix has seen an increase in cancellations, but those were less than the number of sign-ups. “The ratio of sign-ups to cancels since May 23 increased 25.6% compared with the previous 60-day period,” according to the report.
Netflix made the move to limit accounts in late May when it began encouraging to “buy an extra member” for $7.99 that would allow someone who doesn’t live in their household to use the family account. While this initiative created concern over how people wouldn’t be locked out of their accounts while traveling and/or a potential added cost for college students, the password crackdown appears to be working as intended during these first few weeks.
(Via Variety)