Netflix Sees Jump in Daily Sign-Ups in US After Password-Sharing Crackdown, Says Data

Netflix, which has expanded its crackdown to more than 100 other countries, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

By Reuters | Updated: 9 June 2023 23:02 IST

Netflix estimated more than 100 million households supplied their log-in credentials to people outside

Highlights

Netflix moved to regulate the sharing of account passwords
The recent spike also exceeded levels seen during the initial US COVID-19
Netflix's password-sharing crackdown came into effect on May 23

Daily US sign-ups for Netflix have jumped in the first few days after the streaming giant's password-sharing crackdown came into effect on May 23, data from research firm Antenna showed.

The news sent shares of the company up 2.3 percent to $418.92 (nearly. Rs. 35,000) in early trading.

Looking for new ways to make money in a saturating market and a tough economy, Netflix moved to regulate the sharing of account passwords with friends and family — a drastic turnaround for a company that had once tweeted "Love is sharing a password".

Netflix had estimated that more than a 100 million households had supplied their log-in credentials to people outside their homes. Under the new rules, US users can add a member outside of their homes for an additional fee of $8 (nearly. Rs. 650) per month.

Its calculations seem to have paid off as the company recorded nearly 1,00,000 daily sign-ups on both May 26 and May 27, according to Antenna.

Netflix, which has expanded its crackdown to more than 100 other countries, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The streaming video pioneer saw its four largest days of US user acquisition after the change came into effect in the 4-1/2 years that Antenna has been covering the company.

The recent spike also exceeded levels seen during the initial US COVID-19 lockdowns in March and April 2020, according to Antenna, which sources data from third-party data collectors that track online purchase receipts, credit, debit and banking data details with permissions.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

Apple's annual developer conference is just around the corner. From the company's first mixed reality headset to new software updates, we discuss all the things we're looking forward to seeing at WWDC 2023 on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.