Netflix may be the “legacy” video streamer, but they are far from complacent. Netflix’s complexion today is markedly changed from the Netflix of three years ago. In recent years, they have implemented a number of significant changes, including:
- Password-sharing crackdown
- Ad tier launch
- Live events
- Price increases
Given these shifts, we’re taking another look at how these changes have affected key subscriber metrics.
Password-sharing crackdown
The Netflix password-sharing crackdown in the U.S., implemented in late May 2023, subsequently led to significant subscriber growth for the service.
In the first five months of 2023, before the paid sharing rollout, Antenna estimates average monthly Gross Additions to Netflix were approximately 907K. This figure increased to 1.8M Gross Adds per month in the same period of 2024, representing a 97.8% YoY increase, as “long time users, first time Subscribers” signed up to regain access to the service.
In the first five months of 2025, Antenna observed average monthly Gross Adds moderated to 1.3M, a 25.7% YoY decrease compared to the same period in 2024, but still 47.0% higher than in 2023.
So is the password-sharing crackdown still driving some of that growth? Analyzing Resubscribe rates - the percentage of people signing up for Netflix who had formerly subscribed to the service - suggests that the password-sharing crackdown may have largely run its course.
Before the password-sharing crackdown, Antenna observed Netflix's monthly Resubscribe rate was approximately 40% in any given month, higher than the category benchmark. When the password-sharing crackdown in the U.S. began, the monthly Resubscribe rate decreased as low as 18%, significantly below the category. The Resubscribe rate has gradually increased, exceeding 40% in each of the last four months, suggesting that Netflix has largely run out of individuals who were motivated to pay for Netflix for the first time because they lost access via another household’s account.
Ad Tier
Netflix’s ad-supported plan now plays an enormous role in their growth strategy. In the first five months of 2023, Antenna estimates the Standard With Ads plan accounted for 20% of Netflix's Gross Adds. In the first five months of 2024, ad-supported Gross Adds increased by 290%, and accounted for 39% of Gross Adds. In the first five months of 2025, Antenna observes total ad-supported Gross Adds are down 5% as a result of the overall decrease in Gross Adds; but the ad tier accounted for almost 1 in 2 Gross Adds.
Live Events
After a number of experiments with live events, Netflix went aggressively into the category with the Paul vs. Tyson fight and NFL Christmas games in Q4 2024. Those two events drove an unprecedented surge of acquisitions for the service.
For Netflix’s exclusive boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, which aired live on November 15, 2024, Antenna observed 1.43M Sign-ups to the service over the three-day period. Antenna observed 656k Sign-ups to Netflix in the 3-day window (Dec 24-26) for NFL Christmas Gameday. Netflix has historically had a very steady rate of sign-ups, with minimal variance day-to-day, so these two events indicated a new acquisition lever for the service.
Price Increases
The most obvious way for a service to drive growth is by increasing the subscriber count. But services can also increase their topline by raising prices.
Netflix had challenges with its price increase in January 2022, as Antenna observed meaningful increases in churn. But they have successfully executed their last two price increases without driving significant, prolonged increases in churn.
In October 2023, when Netflix raised the Basic and Premium plan prices, Antenna estimates Churn increased to 1.8% from 1.6% in September, and settled further to 1.7% in November.
In January 2025, when Netflix increased prices for all U.S. plans, Antenna estimates churn increased to 2.5% from 1.8% in December, but went back down to 2.3% in February, and was down to 2.0% by May.
For more detailed information on Antenna’s methodology and definitions of core metrics, please visit http://www.antenna.live/methodology.
