Netflix saw its four single-largest days of signing up U.S. customers after implementing a new password-sharing policy in late May. Despite the policy being in its early days, the OTT platform has recorded a surge in its subscriber base.
According to Antenna data, Netflix had nearly 100,000 daily sign-ups on May 26 and May 27, with average sign-ups to the platform reaching 73,000 during that period, a +102 percent increase from the prior 60-day average. These exceed the spikes in sign-ups Antenna observed during the initial U.S. COVID-19 lockdowns in March and April 2020.
But Netflix U.S. customers cancellations also increased over May 25 – 28, which the company expected. However, the cancellations were less than the number of sign-ups. The ratio of sign-ups to cancellations since May 23 increased by 25.6 percent, compared with the previous 60-day period.
Netflix began informing its members on May 23 that the platform was changing its sharing guidelines. It said accounts were only to be shared within the same household. Members, as part of the new policy, have two options for people using their passwords outside of their households. They can either transfer the profile to the person outside of their household so the person can begin a new membership that they pay for on their own, or the member pays an extra fee of $7.99 a month per person outside of their household. The OTT giant saw average daily sign-ups reach 73,000 – a 102 percent increase from the prior 60-day average.
Netflix recorded a huge increase in subscribers in the early days of the COVID pandemic but the subscriber base stagnated in 2022 when life slowly and steadily trickled back to normal. In an effort to boost revenue, the platform cracked down on password sharing and also introduced a cheaper, ad-supported tier.
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