Traffic to Netflix's US registration page soared during the month of March, exclusive site-tracking data shows
- Traffic to Netflix's US registration website soared during the month of March, data from analytics firm SimilarWeb that was shared exclusively with Business Insider showed.
- During the weeks ending March 22 and March 29, visitors to Netflix's US sign-up page climbed 123% compared with the same weeks a year earlier.
- People can visit Netflix's sign-up page without subscribing to its service. But the SimilarWeb data suggests more people at least entertained the idea of subscribing to Netflix during the month.
- The data comes as Netflix overtook Disney in market value, and the streaming giant prepares to report its first-quarter earnings on April 21.
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Maybe it's "Tiger King." Maybe it's quarantine.
Traffic to Netflix's US registration website soared during the month of March, data from analytics firm SimilarWeb that was shared exclusively with Business Insider showed.
SimilarWeb, which measures activity on websites and apps, tracked a steady ramp up in visits to the registration page on the Netflix.com US desktop site, where users can sign up for subscriptions.
During the weeks ending March 22 and March 29, visitors to Netflix's US sign-up page climbed 123% compared with the same weeks a year earlier.
People, of course, can visit Netflix's sign-up page without subscribing to its service.
But the SimilarWeb data suggests more people at least entertained the idea of subscribing to Netflix during the month.
The data comes as the streaming giant prepares to report earnings for its first quarter on April 21.
Netflix and other "stay at home" stocks have largely resisted the drag on the broader stock market over the past month. Shares of Netflix are 65% year to date while the S&P 500 Index is down 6%.
Netflix has even overtaken Disney in market capitalization, as the legacy media companies deals with park closures, theatrical release days, furloughs, and tougher advertising markets.
Netflix's market value is currently around $192 billion, while Disney weighs in at around $185 billion.
According to the SimilarWeb data, here's how visits to Netflix's US sign-up page changed year over year during each week in March:
- Week ending March 8: 3%
- March 15: 39%
- March 22: 123%
- March 29: 123%
- April 5: 115%
Read the full story on how Netflix usage changed in March and what it could say about the streamer's April earnings announcement, on BI Prime: How Netflix usage changed in 14 countries in March, according to exclusive app-tracking data
For more about how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting media, see our coverage on BI Prime:
- Exclusive data suggests Netflix was hurt by the launch of Disney Plus, but has rebounded in recent weeks: The pace of Netflix's US churn, or cancellations, fell in both February and March, suggested data from subscription-measurement firm Antenna.
- The winners and losers among 11 Disney businesses, as analysts slash the projected value of the media giant's parks and raise expectations for Disney Plus: Wells Fargo analysts are valuing Disney's businesses at 26% less than they were before the coronavirus outbreak, according to a report.
- 40 advertising execs who manage $90 billion in spending describe how they're shifting their 2020 budgets in a new report. Here are 4 key takeaways for the TV industry: Connected-TV platforms like Roku and Hulu are expected to see the biggest gains in TV advertising, and Disney is the best-positioned cable-network group.
- The key factors analysts are watching at 5 major media companies including Disney and Fox to help determine whether their stock will keep falling or rebound: Combined, Disney, Fox, ViacomCBS, Discovery, and AMC Networks lost $92 billion in market value since the last market high on February 19, largely thanks to Disney.
- Disney has closed its US parks 'until further notice' and risks losing $1.5 billion in revenue per month they are shut, analysts say: Disney is extending "until further notice" its closures of its US theme parks, Disney World and Disneyland, because of the coronavirus pandemic, the company announced on March 27.
- Analysts lay out the financial damage each of Disney's businesses could face, as it closes parks 'until further notice' and delays films: Disney is one of the media companies most exposed the impact of the coronavirus because of its large theme-park and theatrical businesses.
- Why analysts say Disney and Discovery are the media giants most threatened by the coronavirus, but Comcast could fare better: Companies that generate significant shares of their revenue from theme parks, films, and advertising are most sensitive to the pandemic and the economic downturn it could ignite.
