Even if it is not always well applied (some have managed to circumvent it by declaring themselves on vacation or reconnecting), the end of account sharing has had the desired effect for Netflix. The web giant has announced that it is gaining more subscribers than it is losing, with a net gain of 5.9 million people between April and June.
Tell users to pay, and they will pay? According to Netflix’s latest financial results, the threat of the end of account sharing has had the desired effect for the American company. As the analyst firm Antenna predicted, Netflix has actually been gaining subscribers since the entry into force of this practice, which is especially dissuasive today. 5.9 million people subscribed to Netflix between April and June 2023, including 1.17 million in the United States and 2.43 million in Europe. However, these markets have been very stable in recent quarters, which suggests that the change in policy is responsible for this nice gain.
Scare, a winning strategy
Launched in more than 100 countries in May 2023, the end of account sharing is now extended to all territories where Netflix is located. In its financial document, Netflix indicates that “Registrations already exceed terminations”, which confirms that more users are paying than leaving. The company has had a very encouraging quarter.
Many users succumb to the charm of the additional subscription (a separate profile for 5.99 euros per month), while it is possible to circumvent the Netflix ban by declaring themselves on vacation or by disconnecting, with a code sent by email to prove their identity. All of this clearly illustrates that the people who paid are mostly those who were scared, which still leaves plenty of room for improvement for Netflix. If it tightens the rules in the future, Netflix may be able to capture even more new millions of customers.
In addition to sub-accounts, Netflix says it’s noticed a lot of former “squatters” taking an entire formula, boosting its revenue even further. In short, even if it went against its original principles, Netflix did well to listen to its investors. Economically, this decision is already paying off. Too bad if the image has taken a hit.
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