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Netflix’s Password-Sharing Crackdown May Actually Be Working

John Finn Avatar
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It would seem that Netflix’s attempt to stop password-sharing may actually be working, based on new data which suggest the streamer has seen a big uptick in the number of new users, reaching nearly as high as 100,000 daily sign-ups on some days.

In general, Netflix tends to see a good amount of new subscribers each month, quarter and year. For example the company closed out the first quarter of 2023 with 232.5 million global subscribers, an increase of around 11 million when compared to the first quarter of 2022. Of that 232.5 million, 74.39 million are US and Canada subscribers.

Since advising subscribers that it would begin cracking down on password sharing in the US, “Netflix has had the four single largest days of U.S. user acquisition” in the past four and a half years, according to Antenna. If the latest data from the analytics company is correct, it would seem that the initial impact of the password-sharing change has proven beneficial for the streaming service.

Specifically, Netflix’s average daily sign-ups reached 73,000 following the original May 23rd announcement, a +102% increase from the prior 60-day average. According to Antenna, this level even exceeds the spikes Netflix saw during the initial U.S. Covid-19 lockdowns in March and April 2020.

Netflix password sharing data
Source: Antenna

Naturally, not everyone has been happy with the change, or willing to create new subscriptions, and this has led to a surge of cancellations as well. However, Antenna notes that cancellations haven’t increased as much as sign-ups have. This has resulted in a +25.6% ratio of sign-ups to cancellations since May 23, and when compared to the previous 60-day period.

Of course, none of this is official data, so the actual reality of the fallout of the password-sharing changes won’t be known until Netflix provides firm confirmation. That’s likely to be when it releases its Q2 2023 results in late July.

If, however, Netflix’s data is similar to what Antenna has found, it would certainly seem that, from Netflix’s perspective, the password-sharing crackdown is a win.

John Finn

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