Netflix added 5.9 million new subscribers in the last three months - almost three times as many as analysts expected - after clamping down on households that were sharing their passwords, the Guardian reported..

The streaming giant's latest quarterly results come as strikes from writers and actors have hit the industry - the first time both unions have walked out since the 1960s.

Netflix said it had made a profit of $1.8bn over the quarter on revenues of $8.3bn. Analysts had expected Netflix to add around 2 million new households over the last three months as people who had shared the service for free opted to pay for their own accounts. Netflix now has 238 million subscribers globally.

Some analysts have argued that Netflix is better positioned than its traditional media peers to weather the strike, the Guardian said.

Last year the company lost subscribers for the first time in its history. It has since begun to pick up subscribers again and at the start of the year announced a crackdown on password sharing.

According to the company, more than 100 million households have been participating in password sharing.

Netflix has also moved to broaden its income stream, introducing an ad-supported subscription option.