Los Angeles (USA) (EFE).- Netflix reached 238.4 million subscribers during the second quarter of 2023, 8% more than in the same period last year, thanks to the control policies of shared accounts by its users.
This is the largest number of subscribers in the company’s history, which achieved a net profit of 1,488 million dollars (1,328 million euros). In addition, it also achieved revenue of 8,187 million dollars, which represents an increase of 2.7% compared to the second quarter of 2022.
These results were particularly expected given the crisis generated in Hollywood with the first simultaneous strike of the Screen Actors Guild of the United States (SAG-AFTRA, in English) and the screenwriters’ union in 63 years, which keeps the global entertainment industry paralyzed.
After their publication, Netflix sent a letter to its investors in which it highlighted that currently 80% of its income base comes from a “successful payment model” for cases of shared accounts, which is already present in “almost all countries” where they provide service.
And it is that, after allowing the use of joint accounts and not monetizing them for years, the company based in Los Gatos (California, USA) decided to start putting a stop to it with alternatives that have relieved their accounts.
Eradicating the illegal exchange of these shared passwords has been one of its priorities and in May it began notifying clients in countries such as the United States that users who lived outside the family home had to join as “additional members” -paying an additional cost- or pay their own subscription.
In this context, the “streaming” platform, which added 5.9 million new accounts compared to the first three months of this year, forecasts a “great growth” of 7.5% in its revenue item for the next quarter.
“We expect revenue growth to accelerate in the second half of the year as we begin to see the full benefits of the shared payment model. (…) We still have work to do to increase our growth”, reads the statement.
In addition, the shared account control strategy is accompanied by the idea of stopping offering its plan at a reduced price with advertising for new subscribers in the United States and the United Kingdom, as announced by the company hours before making public its results.
“Our starting prices of $6.99 in the US and £4.99 in the UK (5.76 euros) in the model with ads were lower than those of the competition and offered the full breadth and quality of our catalog,” Netflix tried to justify this procedure previously implemented in Canada.
Hollywood strikes, unnoticed for now by Netflix
The company’s letter to its shareholders included a single mention of the Hollywood strikes, to indicate that the “updated forecasts” following the walkouts only reveal “minor spending on content.”
A position that is in line with that outlined by Netflix representatives since this simultaneous strike became official last Thursday and whose messages have been based on transmitting “tranquility” to its users because, according to them, they still maintain a “solid catalog and release schedule to last a long time.”
“We remain focused on creating a constant rhythm of programs and films to improve the quality of life of our viewers,” the company concluded after these “satisfactory” results that maintain it as the absolute leader in the streaming market thanks to its 238.4 million customers.