Netflix's password-sharing crackdown has been very successful in adding new subs...

Netflix's password-sharing crackdown has been very successful in adding new subscribers

• Netflix's password-sharing crackdown has been a huge success.

• New data from Antenna shows a big spike in new subscribers in May, June, and July.

• Netflix's new ad tier also seems to be gaining share.

This could come as unwelcome news, but it's becoming clear that Netflix's password-sharing crackdown has been a resounding success.

Netflix on May 23 began charging US subscribers $8 to add an additional user to their account, if that person lives outside the household of the account holder.

In my case, it meant I had to pay $8 more per month so my mom, who lives across the country, wouldn't get kicked out of my account. It turns out I'm far from unique, according to new data released by Antenna, a firm that measures Netflix's subscriber numbers through opt-in panels that track purchase and transaction data.

Antenna said that in the first six days after the clampdown went into effect, Netflix had "the four single largest days of US user acquisition" in the four and a half years Antenna had tracked it. And new data the firm released on Wednesday shows momentum has continued.

Here's a chart from Antenna that shows the spike in sign-ups that Netflix has seen in the US:

In that chart, you can see the big spike in June (and late May) in the US that helped propel Netflix to a monster Q2, in which it added 5.9 million subscriptions worldwide. Antenna previously said that while the clampdown increased cancellations, it increased new subscriber additions by far more.

That trend continued in July, though it moderated a bit, which was to be expected after an initial surge when the crackdown was introduced.

"Netflix commanded 2.6M [gross additions] in July 2023, which is overall elevated compared to normal, but represents a -25.7% dip from its record breaking June 2023," Antenna wrote. "For the second month in a row Netflix led the category with nearly 1 in 5 Premium [subscription-video-on-demand gross additions]."