Netflix sign-ups jump as US password sharing crackdown kicks off

Daily US sign-ups for Netflix have jumped in the first few days after the streaming giant's password-sharing crackdown came into effect on May 23, data from research firm Antenna showed.

The news sent shares of the company up 2.3% to $418.92 in early trading.

Looking for new ways to make money in a saturating market and a tough economy, Netflix moved to regulate the sharing of account passwords with friends and family - a drastic turnaround for a company that had once tweeted "Love is sharing a password".

Netflix had estimated that more than a 100 million households had supplied their log-in credentials to people outside their homes. Under the new rules, US users can add a member outside of their homes for an additional fee of $8 per month.

Small toy figures are seen in front of diplayed Netflix logo in this illustration taken March 19, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Its calculations seem to have paid off as the company recorded nearly 100,000 daily sign-ups on both May 26 and May 27, according to Antenna.

Netflix, which has expanded its crackdown to more than 100 other countries, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The streaming video pioneer saw its four largest days of US user acquisition after the change came into effect in the 4-1/2 years that Antenna has been covering the company.

The recent spike also exceeded levels seen during the initial US Covid19 lockdowns in March and April 2020, according to Antenna, which sources data from third-party data collectors that track online purchase receipts, credit, debit and banking data details with permissions.