More than a quarter of Netflix’s UK subscribers share passwords

Exclusive: world's biggest streaming service has announced crackdown after first fall in customers in a decade

More than a quarter of British Netflix subscribers allow their friends and family to use their accounts, with at least 17m homes estimated to be password sharing across the embattled streaming platform's biggest markets in Europe.

Netflix announced plans to crack down on the practice as one of a number of strategic moves designed to stem investor panic after it had more than $60bn (47bn) wiped off its market value last week when it reported its first loss of subscribers in a decade.