Netflix's Looming Account-Sharing Crackdown Sparks Surge of New Sign-Ups

pcmag.com:

Netflix is seeing a surge of new sign-ups after the streaming company began warning users it’ll stop account-sharing in the US, according to market research firm Antenna.

Antenna tracks consumer purchases from millions of US internet users through “a privacy-compliant basis.” On Friday, it published a report examining the flow of Netflix sign-ups since it sent emails alerting subscribers about the looming crackdown on May 23. 

“Netflix has had the four single largest days of US user acquisition in the four and a half years that Antenna has been measuring the streaming service,” the market research firm wrote in the blog post(Opens in a new window). “Based on the most current data available, Netflix saw nearly 100,000 daily sign-ups on both May 26 and May 27."

During the past two weeks, the average daily sign-ups for Netflix have reached 73,000, which represents a 102% increase from the prior 60-day average. The surge in new users also surpassed the spike in new sign-ups Netflix saw during the COVID-19 lockdown period, according to Antenna’s data. 

That said, the market research firm noted: “Cancels also increased during this period.” But the new sign-up rate still far surpassed the number of users bailing. “The ratio of Sign-ups to Cancels since May 23rd is up +25.6% compared to the previous 60-day period,” the research firm said. 

The data is good news for Netflix, which is betting the impending account-sharing crackdown will increase its paying subscriber count, rather than cause consumers to flee. The company plans to start limiting account-sharing in the US and other markets before the end of June.

In a recent earnings call, Netflix also noted it began restricting account-sharing in select markets including Canada