Netflix Password Crackdown Fuels Jump-in Subscribers!

Netflix saw a huge spike in new subscriptions this spring after the streaming giant cracked down on password sharing. 

The company ended June with more than 238 million subscribers, adding 5.9 million members since March.

That was bigger than expected and follows efforts by the company to re-ignite growth following unusual subscriber losses last spring.

It is also facing challenges from ongoing strikes in the US by writers and actors.

Netflix has been wrestling with a sharp slowdown in growth since the pandemic, as competition heats up, households grapple with rising costs and it reaches what analysts see as a saturation point in some of its biggest markets.

In the first half of last year, it shed roughly 1 million accounts. Though it later more than made up those losses, the declines jolted the company and sent it scrambling to shore up its growth prospects.  

Netflix said few people had cancelled as a result of the password changes and it believed the programme would fuel similar subscriber gains in the months ahead.

It has been estimated that more than 100 million households share passwords in breach of its official rules.

HEADS UP!

Netflix is getting rid of its "Basic" plan, which is the $9.99 ad-free tier. The good news is, if you already have it, you can stay on it. But new subscribers will have to choose a more expensive plan or the ad-supported tier for $6.99.