Netflix can chalk up another solid quarter, with Q3 revenue of $8.5 billion, up 8 percent year-over-year, with 9 million new subscribers for a total of 247 million worldwide. Netflix attributes the strong subscriber growth in part to its ongoing password-sharing crackdown. The company has now officially rolled out what it calls “paid sharing” in all regions in which it operates, reporting that there were fewer resulting cancellations than expected. Rather, it says it has largely effectuated its desired result of converting piggybacking customers into paid subscribers. Meanwhile, Netflix is raising its rates as it continues to add originals and “license titles from around the world.”

Beginning this week Netflix is increasing the monthly price of a U.S. premium ad-free subscription to $22.99 from $19.99. Rates will also rise in Great Britain and France. “Its one-stream basic plan will rise to $11.99 in the United States” while “all other plans, including its entry-level, $6.99-a-month ad-supported tier, will remain at the same monthly cost,” CNN writes.

“Analysts attributed the increase to an effort to lure more people to Netflix’s $6.99 service, which includes advertisements and generates additional revenue,” according to The New York Times.

“Adoption of our ads plan continues to grow — with ads plan membership up almost 70 percent quarter-over-quarter — and 30 percent of sign-ups in our ads countries are, on average, to our ads plan, with more work to do to scale this business,” Netflix explained in a shareholder letter.

“Raising prices will boost revenue for streaming services in the short term, but overusing this marketing lever isn’t sustainable,” Forrester Research VP and Research Director Mike Proulx is quoted as saying in NYT, adding that consumers expect “great content at a fair price,” but are “arguably, getting less value” with the price hike plan.

Related:
Netflix Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcripts, Netflix, 10/18/23
Netflix Raises Prices Again After Reporting Strong Subscriber Growth, TechCrunch, 10/19/23
Netflix Earnings: Subscribers Swell to Record 247 Million as Stock Soars, Forbes, 10/18/23