Netflix Beats Subscription Rate Predictions By One Third As Shares Reach All-Time High

Thursday January 19, 2017 3:42 AM PST by Tim Hardwick
netflixNetflix added over a third more subscribers than expected in the last quarter of 2016, the streaming video service revealed yesterday. According to its latest Q4 letter to shareholders, Netflix signed up 7.1 million new subscribers worldwide, almost two million more than analysts expected, despite price raises during the quarter.

The company put the boost down to the success of original shows like season 3 of Black Mirror and British drama The Crown which have garnered strong global followings. Notably, the company said millions of U.S. subscribers had tuned in to watch dubbed and subtitled versions of Brazilian series 3%, making it the first Portuguese-language TV show to travel meaningfully beyond Latin America and Portugal.
Internet video is a global phenomenon. Amazon Prime Video expanded recently to match our territory footprint, while YouTube remains far larger than either of us in terms of global video enjoyment minutes. Video consumption is growing on Facebook, and Apple is rumored to be adding video to its music service.

...The BBC has become the first major linear network to announce plans to go binge-first with new seasons, favoring internet over linear viewers. We presume HBO is not far behind the BBC. In short, it’s becoming an internet TV world, which presents both challenges and opportunities for Netflix as we strive to earn screen time.
Netflix said it planned to release more than 1,000 hours of original programming this year, up from 600 hours in 2016. It also said it had recently signed a deal with comedian Jerry Seinfeld to stream Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee as well as two new stand-up specials and other shows he will develop.

Netflix announced earnings of 15 cents per share and revenue of $2.48 billion, beating Wall Street expectations of earnings at 13 cents per share. Netflix rose as much as 8.2 percent in after-hours trading following the earnings report, adding nearly $5 billion to the company's stock market value.

Tag: Netflix
42 comments


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69Mustang
27 months ago

No longer subscribe to Netflix BECAUSE of their original content, for which they gutted their movie catalogue. Don't watch "TV shows" whether they are produced by Netflix or CBS. I was only there for the movies.

You're in the minority. It's pretty evident that original programming helps to drive subscriptions. They're more sticky than a single movie. Movies may have been Netflix's foundation but it seems clear that series, original or rebroadcast, drive the future.
Rating: 7 Votes
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J.Dillinger
27 months ago
Good to see it. Netflix has some great original programming and getting better. They completed their migration to AWS and service has been stellar. Offline downloads came to iOS recently. Cable and network TV are being forced to reconsider their service offerings. Give 'em hell Netflix.
Rating: 7 Votes
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CharlesShaw
27 months ago
Every time I think about taking a break from Netflix they release another original series I like.
Rating: 5 Votes
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itsmilo
27 months ago
They release so many shows i cant even keep up any more!
Rating: 4 Votes
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imanidiot
27 months ago

These were the minority in all probability.

No longer subscribe to Netflix BECAUSE of their original content, for which they gutted their movie catalogue. Don't watch "TV shows" whether they are produced by Netflix or CBS. I was only there for the movies.
Rating: 4 Votes
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2010mini
27 months ago
Apple should've bought this company years ago and let it run independently.
Rating: 3 Votes
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Sandstorm
27 months ago
I'm one of those new Netflix subscribers. I love it. My trial month just endend and I'm keeping the service.
Rating: 2 Votes
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vertical smile
27 months ago

Now if they could just clean up the interface on 4th Gen TV.


I agree, it is horrible. I guess a lot of people complained about the lack of Genres on the ATV4 version of Netflix, so it was finally added a few months ago. Even still, the new genre menu is pretty bad when compared to the ATV3 version.

I wish there was a way to get the ATV3 version of Netflix on the ATV4. The ATV4 version looks nicer, but it is very messy, and disorganized.


I noticed that a lot of video apps has a style similar to Netflix on the ATV4, so I guess people like the side scrolling way of organizing, but I find it hard to explore and find stuff.

I still jump on my ATV3 to explore Netflix just to find something then watch it on the ATV4.
Rating: 2 Votes
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melendezest
27 months ago
Netflix rocks beyond belief. Three years in with no cable and it's better than ever.

I'd stay for the Marvel shows alone, but Stranger Things, Orange.., original flicks, and all the popular tv series I never watched (11 Seasons of Bones!) keep me well entertained.

Combined with my Prime subscription I really have WAY more Tv than I have time for. I actually shut my Hulu off because I just didn't have time for it, and their content was not for me (hate all reality tv with a passion).

Got the free month of HBO too, so binging Westworld (damn it's good) takes up my evenings.
Rating: 2 Votes
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dilbert99
27 months ago
they need to stop bowing to the studios and allow me access to the full catalogue and stop playing the whack a mole game of blocking access across regions
Rating: 1 Votes
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