Netflix was the first of the leaders of the VOD market to stop indulging its users. One of the most expensive services of this type on the market has so far turned a blind eye to sharing accounts with friends, despite the fact that it is against the regulations. Now not only has it stopped turning a blind eye – it has also begun to actively block the attempts of those users who break the rules. Sharing Netflix between households has become difficult, if not impossible.

The reaction of customers was not difficult to predict. There was an uproar on social media. Netflix viewers expressed deep outrage at the company’s new policy and announced that it would give up further payment. Could the entertainment giant feel too confident and take one step too far? On the contrary. It seems that Netflix’s decision was the right one. Well, at least from the point of view of said Netflix.

Warnings about the ban on account sharing worked better than the pandemic. Record number of new accounts.

If we assume that the data from the US market will more or less coincide with trends in the rest of the world, then Netflix has made the best possible decision for itself. According to the data collected by Antenna, not only the right owners of Netflix accounts not abandon them – in addition, people who had so far benefited from the courtesy of friends began to buy their own accounts.

Excluding the huge increase in popularity of Netflix during the COVID-19 pandemic and social isolation, the service in the US market enjoys a fairly constant number of new users per month. Meanwhile, since Netflix began disconnecting illegal viewers from accounts at the end of May, Netflix has seen an unprecedented influx of new viewers. Warnings worked better than the pandemic.

The competition, so far, does not promise to introduce such a strict policy, and some of it even used the opportunity to make fun of the market leader. Seeing the above data, they may unfortunately decide to change their approach. And to follow in the footsteps of the market leader.