Netflix Gained Almost 6 Million New Subscribers In Q2 After Cracking Down On Password Sharing 

Netflix‘s recent earning report revealed the streamer gained a whopping 5.8 million subscribers in the second quarter of the year, Variety reports.

This boost in users brings their global subscribers total to 238.39 million, marking an 8% increase in subscribers year-over-year.

The streaming service was initially projected to gain 1.7 million new subscribers for the second quarter, which ended on June 30, Variety reports. Considering Netflix rolled out its controversial paid sharing program during this period of time, many were not expecting to see such an increase any time soon.

The paid sharing program that was launched in May asked users to pay an additional per month $8 for each extra member that will be using the Netflix account outside of the household.

The company saw returns soon after cracking down on password sharing despite the controversy it sparked, earning an average of 73,000 new users per day signing up for their own accounts.

The streamer also reported that it turned a profit of $1.5 billion this quarter. It is expecting to earn $8.5 billion in revenue in Q3.

The earnings report followed soon after news broke that the streamer will be eliminating its cheapest ad-free subscription in the U.S. and the U.K., just one month after it was axed in Canada. Now, Netflix users in the United States must pay at least $15.59 for ad-free programming.

“Our starting prices of $6.99 in the U.S. and £4.99 in the U.K. [for Standard With Ads] are lower than the competition and provide great value to consumers given the breadth and quality of our catalog,” a spokesperson for Netflix told Variety.

The Basic plan will no longer be available to “new or rejoining members,” but existing members can keep their Basic subscription unless they “change plans or cancel [their] account,” according to the company.

This move comes just months after the company began seeing success with the ad-supported plan it rolled out in November 2022. By May, almost 5 million users had signed up for it.