Netflix Password Crackdown Delivers Millions of New Customers

Netflix NFLX -0.51%decrease; red down pointing triangle showed that its password-sharing crackdown continues to bear fruit, delivering its strongest first-quarter customer additions since the pandemic and further strengthening its position as the dominant global streamer.

The company added 9.33 million subscribers in the first quarter, more than five times the number of customers it added during the same period a year earlier, with its efforts to limit password sharing continuing to bear fruit. Netflix began limiting password sharing in earnest about a year ago. Netflix has spent the last year rolling out that initiative, working to expand its ad business and changing its line-up of prices and plans to better position itself for the future. 

Early next year, the company plans to stop providing investors quarterly membership numbers and the average revenue generated per member, saying it now has multiple pricing tiers in a variety of markets. Netflix said it would add annual revenue guidance.

Netflix ended the first quarter with 269.6 million paying customers globally and said it now has an audience of more than a half billion people.

It delivered a stream of hit original TV shows early in the year, including science fiction epic “3 Body Problem,” the latest season of reality series “Love is Blind,” and TV drama “Griselda,” as well as films like “Damsel” and lighter fare including “Irish Wish”.

The streamer’s continued growth comes as competitors like Disney and Paramount push to make their streaming services profitable. While some traditional entertainment companies grapple with password-sharing crackdowns and improving their recommendation engines, Netflix is already benefiting from such product features.

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