According to Netflix, subscriber losses in the most recent quarter were substantially fewer than anticipated, which helped the streaming service’s shares rise in after-hours trade.
Netflix reported a loss of 970,00 global subscribers in its second quarter financial release on Tuesday, versus an expected loss of 2 million.
The popular Netflix series Stranger Things, which launched a new season in two parts at the end of the second quarter and the end of the third, was cited by some who had predicted fewer losses.
The staggered release strategy was widely seen as a means of preventing users from subscribing to watch the show and quickly cancelling their membership.
The most recent statistics follow a deployment of a subscription policy in Latin America designed to test methods for preventing password sharing, which Netflix has identified as the main reason for its sharp decline in subscribers.
If users in five Latin American nations often use the platform in a separate home, the streaming service will charge them an extra cost.
If their account has been used outside of their country of residency for longer than two weeks, users in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, and Argentina will get a message.
To continue watching at that other location, they will need to pay an extra $2.99 ($1.70 in Argentina) on top of their usual membership.
Users that watch on mobile devices, such as computers, phones, and tablets, won’t be charged the extra price.
The decision may make or break Netflix, which has been attempting to stabilize its crumbling profitability while preserving its subscription-based business model.
Analysts claim Netflix is making every effort to avoid showing adverts to consumers or selling their personal information, but many believe it is only a matter of time until the company is compelled to do so.