- By Vikas Yadav
- Fri, 21 Jul 2023 04:59 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
JE Technology Desk: Netflix, an international OTT giant, has recently been in the news for announcing a password-sharing crackdown across the globe in several countries, including India. While users may think it might have acted unfavourably, the newly released quarterly report hints Netflix gained 5.9 million subscribers in the second quarter of 2023 (which is close to an 8 per cent spike) new subscribers amid the crackdown (called 'paid sharing' in the official document).
The crackdown is live in over 100 countries and will roll out to the remaining countries soon. Sign-ups exceed cancellations, and the revenue in the regions is on the higher side when compared with the situation earlier. According to the document, the "cancel reaction was low". The OTT player recently also scrapped its most economical ad-free plan priced at $9.99 in the United States. With the move, we can speculate that the platform aims to offer an experience without ads at a more premium price.
Also Read: Netflix Password Sharing Comes To An End In India; What Should You Do Now?
"We're seeing healthy conversion of borrower households into full paying Netflix memberships as well as the uptake of our extra member feature," the document excerpts read. The results hint that users are heading towards buying personal subscriptions rather than relying on credentials from friends or acquaintances.
For the unversed, Netflix recently announced paid sharing in India that would restrict only family members to access a Netflix Household account and no other person outside the circle. "Starting today, we will be sending this [information on paid sharing] email to members who are sharing Netflix outside their household in India," the company said in a recent statement. This will restrict users from accessing the OTT content and transfer their account to a paid plan.
According to the data from Netflix, over 100 million users access the content on the platform for free because of the password-sharing mechanism. In the new scheme, it will identify the primary location of a user to check whether they are a part of the household using an internet connection, IP address and more and offer access to only family members.
