- Netflix's password-sharing crackdown has been a huge success.
- New data from Antenna shows a big spike in new subscribers in May, June, and July.
This could come as unwelcome news, but it's becoming clear that Netflix's password-sharing crackdown has been a resounding success.
Netflix on May 23 began charging US subscribers $8 to add an additional user to their account, if that person lives outside the household of the account holder.
In my case, it meant I had to pay $8 more per month so my mom, who lives across the country, wouldn't get kicked out of my account. It turns out I'm far from unique, according to new data released by Antenna, a firm that measures Netflix's subscriber numbers through opt-in panels that track purchase and transaction data.
Antenna said that in the first six days after the clampdown went into effect, Netflix had "the four single largest days of US user acquisition" in the four and a half years Antenna had tracked it. And new data the firm released on Wednesday shows momentum has continued.
Here's a chart from Antenna that shows the spike in sign-ups that Netflix has seen in the US:
In that chart, you can see the big spike in June (and late May) in the US that helped propel Netflix to a monster Q2, in which it added 5.9 million subscriptions worldwide. Antenna previously said that while the clampdown increased cancellations, it increased new subscriber additions by far more.
That trend continued in July, though it moderated a bit, which was to be expected after an initial surge when the crackdown was introduced.
"Netflix commanded 2.6M [gross additions] in July 2023, which is overall elevated compared to normal, but represents a -25.7% dip from its record breaking June 2023," Antenna wrote. "For the second month in a row Netflix led the category with nearly 1 in 5 Premium [subscription-video-on-demand gross additions]."
How much benefit can Netflix expect to see over time from the crackdown? JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth previously estimated that 33 million households globally that shared passwords would eventually convert into new paying subscribers by the end of 2025, Insider's Matthew Fox reported. In his analysis, Anmuth assumed a roughly equal split between new subscribers and additional users being added to existing accounts.
Other streamers are clearly taking note of Netflix's success. Disney CEO Bob Iger said this month that he's planning his own password-sharing crackdown in 2024.
In Antenna's new research, the firm also found enthusiasm among new subscribers for Netflix's cheaper ad-supported tier, which costs $7 per month.
"Some 23% of Netflix sign-ups went to its ad-supported plan, +4pts compared to June 2023, and the highest portion of sign-ups since the launch of that plan in November," Antenna wrote.
It seems that Netflix's two biggest recent changes, its ad tier and password-sharing crackdown, are both paying off in a major way for the streaming service.