Netflix added several new subscribers in the days after introducing the stricter approach to account sharing at the end of May. There has even been a doubling in daily subscriber growth, reports a research agency. This suggests that the new policy could be very profitable for Netflix.
Netflix recently introduced surcharges in several countries, including the Netherlands, for subscribers who share their accounts with people outside their household. In the Netherlands, the cost of adding such an “additional member” is €4 per month. Prices vary by country. For example, a streaming service charges at least $8 more per month in the US.
The imposition of the surcharges has prompted many angry reactions on social media, but a new report from research agency Antenna suggests the measures are working. Netflix added an average of more than 73,000 new subscribers per day in the United States during the four days after the new policy was implemented. In the first two days, the number exceeded 100,000. This has led to a doubling of the number of new subscribers compared to the average daily increase in previous months.
‘Biggest increase yet’
Subscriber growth in those four days was the largest the antenna has measured since it began tracking this data 4.5 years ago. The number of cancellations has also increased, but not as much as the number of new registrations, the research firm says. “The ratio of registrations to cancellations increased by 26 percent compared to the previous 60-day period.”
In April, Netflix said it was “satisfied” with the first results of the stricter approach in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain. The streaming service estimates that more than 100 million people use Netflix without paying for it.
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