Netflix's password-sharing crackdown pays off! Streaming platform gains 9.3 ... trends now

Netflix's crackdown on password sharing might have been bad news for many of us still lurking on our friends' accounts.

But for the streaming giant, the risky move has now translated into soaring profits and record subscriber numbers.

In the first three months of 2024, Netflix added 9.3 million new customers, bringing its total subscriber base to almost 270 million. 

And with subscription prices on the rise, this has given the company a quarterly profit of more than $2.3bn (£1.85bn) - up from $1.3bn (£1bn) in 2023.

However, the company also revealed that it will no longer be reporting its subscriber numbers from next year, sparking concerns that growth may soon slow.

Despite price rises, Netflix revealed that year-on-year subscriber growth was the highest it had been in the last 12 months.

In the first three months of the year, subscriber growth rose to 16 per cent compared with only 4.9 per cent this time last year. 

Much of this growth is likely due to the streaming service's recent crackdown on password sharing.

After investors were rattled by Netflix's first ever net loss of customers in 2020, the company implemented a system of paid sharing.

Rather than sharing an account with friends, households now have to pay a fee to let other people use their accounts. 

By looking at the IP address and location of your device, Netflix checks if you are part of the household paying for the account.

If the service detects what it believes to be password sharing, the device is blocked and users are given an option to make their own account.  

Although it was considered a gamble by some at the time, this decision appears to have paid off. 

At the end of last year, Netflix added 13 million new subscribers and brought its total to 260.28 million. 

However, Netflix attributes its success to a 'drumbeat' of hits which have boosted engagement. 

The company says its biggest successes included Society of the Snow with 98.5m views, Fool Me Once with 98.2m views, and Griselda with 66.4m views.