Despite price hikes and password restrictions, Netflix’s subscriber base has surged, bringing massive profits for the streaming service. According to Bankless Times, Netflix’s subscribers have risen by 30% in the last four years. From Q2 ’21, Netflix had 209 million subscribers; now, this figure has snowballed to 277 million in Q2 ’24. Moreover, Q2’s subscriber tally represented an increase of over 8 million subscribers from the previous quarter, making the first half of 2024 one of the best subscriber outcomes yet.
Bankless Times’ analyst, Elizabeth Kerr, commented: “Netflix’s decision to introduce the ad-tier plan and the recent password-sharing crackdown has played a meaningful part in growing the platform’s subscriber base, especially in the first six months of 2024.”
Following a price hike in October 2023, the monthly price for the premium plan is at $23, practically twice the price than ten years ago. However, the price rise has not stopped viewers from using the streaming platform, with the subscriber base at its highest in over a decade.
Netflix’s current subscriber pool comes mainly from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, which account for almost 34% of its worldwide subscriber base. In terms of age groups, Netflix remains relevant to all of them, with most subscribers aged 18-54.
In November 2022, Netflix launched an ad-supported tier to balance out user and revenue drops experienced in the year’s first half. Since then, many users have jumped onto the ad-tier plan, driving up Netflix advertising revenue. By January 2024, over 23 million monthly users were paying for the ad-supported plan.
In July 2024, Netflix also announced the phase-out of its lowest-priced ad-free subscription plan in the U.S. and France after dropping it entirely in the U.K. and Canada.
The end of the ad-free basic plan suggests that more viewers will shift to Netflix’s cheaper ad-supported plan, showcasing Netflix’s new business model, which will rely heavily on ad revenue.
According to Statista, subscription revenues will likely fall in the forthcoming years while ad revenue spikes for the platform, hinting that Netflix’s new focus on its ad service will likely pay off.