Netflix adds subscribers after password crackdown
NETFLIX has enjoyed its strongest start to the year since 2020 as its password sharing crackdown boosted subscriber numbers.
The streaming giant added a further 9.3m users in the first three months of the year, boosted by original hits such as Harlan Coben adaptation Fool Me
Once and Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen. That compares with just 1.75m new subscribers in the same period last year, as the latest figures came in well ahead of analyst forecasts.
Netflix’s total subscriber base now stands at just under 270m. The figures underscore Netflix’s dominance in the streaming sector after the company previously added a record 13m new subscribers in the final quarter of 2023.
The California-based company has overhauled the business amid rising inflation and a deepening cost of living crisis, delivering its strongest growth since Covid lockdowns.
Improvements in performance have stemmed from its crackdown on password sharing, which has helped boost subscriber growth, as well the launch of an advert-funded tier in late 2022.
The company also raised prices for customers late last year. In a letter to shareholders, Netflix said: “With more than two people per household on average, we have an audience of over half a billion people. No entertainment company has ever programmed at this scale and with this ambition before.”
Netflix has concentrated on profits after years of focusing on subscribers amid tough competition from its rivals.
The company posted net profits of $2.3bn (£1.9bn), a sharp increase on the $1.3bn profit posted in the same quarter last year. Revenues rose to $9.3bn.