The streaming giant said it added 9.3 million subscribers in the first three months of the year.

Netflix says its profits have soared in the first three months of this year, partly thanks to a crackdown on password sharing.

The streaming giant said it added 9.3 million customers in the first quarter, bringing its total number of subscribers to almost 270 million.

The company also said its profits in the first quarter jumped to more than $2.3bn (£1.85bn).

But the firm will stop reporting key subscriber numbers from next year.

…

Some investors saw its unexpected decision to stop reporting subscriber numbers as a sign that Netflix’s wave of customer growth may be coming to an end.

Simon Gallagher, a former Netflix director and now principal of entertainment investment firm SPG Global, told the BBC’s Today programme that while the numbers indicated a “very, very strong performance” this might not last.

  • SuperSpruce
    273·
    2 months ago

    Ladies and gentlemen,

    We have failed. We need to be better consumers, and do something about when businesses pull tricks like this. But we have failed to appropriately respond, and we will be paying a big price for this.

    Now, every single subscription business and their mother will be cracking down on password sharing. It’ll be seen as guaranteed profit at the expense of our wallets and freedoms, and quickly ingrained into society.

    • dutchkimble@lemy.lol
      15·
      2 months ago

      Do what though? We can either unsubscribe, or subscribe. This is not a social service by them, nor is a gun being put to our heads to use Netflix. I really don’t mean to defend them, I prefer the high seas myself, but I genuinely feel there’s nothing we can or should do except either agree or disagree with them about subscribing to their plans.

      • Jojo, Lady of the West@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        8·
        2 months ago

        My response to being told Netflix would stop my password sharing was to cancel my sub. And now, months later, I’m using someone else’s password to keep watching their shows…

      • SuperSpruce
        2·
        2 months ago

        This is where the problem lies: We have pathetically little power over the situation. I try to do my best to avoid paying companies that abuse their paying customers and let others know about it.

        • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
          1·
          2 months ago

          This is where the problem lies: We have pathetically little power over the situation.

          Collectively, we do. We just never do collectively.

    • chuckleslord@lemmy.world
      152·
      2 months ago

      I’m sorry, but you’re wrong. We didn’t fail. Netflix popularized a business model that most businesses would’ve cracked down on from the jump (password sharing) and then, once they controlled a sizable market of unique and desired IP, they did a rug pull. Blaming that on consumers is asinine. Everyone knew that the original practice was outside the norm and legally grey. And now your options are breaking the law or finally getting the subscription you probably would’ve been paying the whole time.

      It’s part of enshittification. By offering more to a consumer than they’re used to from the jump, it builds a positive relationship, and then you undo the practice later to squeeze profit. Shaming the victims in the situation is a weird thing that a lot of people like to do.

      • SuperSpruce
        3·
        2 months ago

        True, businesses try to seize all the opportunity for themselves, which is why I think we should do the same. It’s why I left Reddit for Lemmy, I didn’t want to keep supporting a platform that wasn’t respecting me.

      • ChexMax@lemmy.world
        2·
        2 months ago

        Or the third option which is to cancel Netflix even short term. I wasn’t password sharing, but when Netflix cracked down, we cancelled. We use the other services. I’m voting with my dollars.