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

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.”

(Credit: Antenna)

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 back in Q1. Although some subscribers did cancel their subscriptions in the affected markets, Netflix saw other users signing up for Netflix’s paid options, which now include a $6.99-per-month ad-supported plan.  

“For example, in Canada, which we believe is a reliable predictor for the US, our paid membership base is now larger than prior to the launch of paid sharing and revenue growth has accelerated and is now growing faster than in the US,” Netflix said at the time. 

There’s still no word on what date exactly Netflix will crack down on account sharing. In the meantime, the company is offering an option that’ll let existing subscribers continue to share their accounts with someone living outside their household, but only if they pay even more.