Netflix gains nearly 6 million subscribers after password sharing crackdown

Subscriptions to the media streaming service climbed by nearly 6 million in the wake of its crackdown on password sharing. The streaming giant finished the recently ended quarter with a total of 238 million subscribers and a profit of $1.5 billion, according to an earnings release.

Team Newsable

First Published Jul 20, 2023, 2:55 PM IST | Last Updated Jul 20, 2023, 2:55 PM IST

The world's largest streaming service, Netflix, declared that its campaign against password sharing had resulted in an extra 5.9 billion members. With 238.4 million customers globally at the end of June, Netflix anticipates further subscriber growth from July through September. Since reaching 10 million customers in 2020, under quite different conditions, the increase of over 6 million subscribers is Netflix's strongest second-quarter performance.

Netflix management stated that the ban on password sharing is having a "healthy conversion of borrower households into full paying Netflix memberships" in a letter to shareholders. The crackdown on password sharing will now be applied to all regions, including Kenya, Indonesia, and India, according to Netflix's announcement.

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The crackdown on password sharing will now be implemented in India, according to a statement released by Netflix on Wednesday. The company also highlighted that Netflix accounts are intended to be used just inside a single household.

"Starting today, we will be sending this email to members who are sharing Netflix outside their household in India," according to a statement from Netflix. Following the launch of a more affordable, ad-supported streaming plan, Netflix started to prohibit password sharing, which is thought to allow some 100 million users to access its material for free.

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After starting last year, the ban on password sharing was eventually expanded to several other nations, including the US. Numerous users have signed up for the less expensive basic advertising tier as a result of the crackdown's requirement that users who share an account with someone outside of their family pay an extra cost.

The new announcement from the video streaming platform comes as the company has quietly removed its $9.99/month basic plan in the US and UK in a bid to push users towards its ad-supported tier or premium plans and boost revenues.

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