Netflix Gains Massive Amount Of Subscribers In Unreal Short Time
It’s been a very rough year for Netflix: the veteran streaming service lost subscribers for the first time in April of 2022, which sent its value tumbling and led to the company cracking down on users sharing passwords (something the streamer once encouraged via social media). Between the crackdowns and the price increases, many wondered if the pioneering streaming service would ever fully recover.
However, The Hollywood Reporter reports that Netflix gained nine million subscribers this quarter and 5.9 million subscribers last quarter, and these accomplishments are that much more impressive when you consider how Netflix was affected by the previous writer’s strike and ongoing actor’s strike.
Netflix gained 9 million subscribers in the last three months alone.
How, though, did Netflix manage to gain so many new subscribers in such a short period of time? One explanation is that the crackdown on password sharing accomplished the company’s goal. While many users vocally complained about this crackdown, it seems that the streamer really did manage to get some users who were relying on friends and family for their streaming needs to sign up for their own Netflix accounts.
Another potential for the uptick in subscribers may be a very positive consumer reaction to Netflix streaming very popular shows such as the USA Network series Suits. As Yahoo! reports, the “legal drama spent 12 weeks in the number one spot on the Nielsen streaming charts,” leading the streamer to begin “looking for more licensed shows that it can acquire and will hopefully have the same effect.”
Only time will tell if this so-called “Suits Effect” will dramatically increase Netflix’s subscriber count in the future, but in the meantime, the availability of this beloved show and others may have helped with the current increase.
Another potential for the uptick in subscribers may be a very positive consumer reaction to Netflix streaming very popular shows such as the USA Network series Suits.
Whether or not all those extra subscribers will ease all of Netflix’s financial woes remains to be seen, however. Right now, the company has a “revenue of $8.5 billion and operating income of $1.7 billion,” which means that it fell just short of Wall Street predictions (these predictions included a revenue of $8.5 billion and an operating income of $1.9 billion). By the end of the fourth quarter, “Netflix projects its revenue to rise to $8.7 billion, but its net income to fall to $956 million.”
Still, the company seemed cautiously optimistic in its recent letter to shareholders. In that letter, Netflix acknowledged the difficulties caused by the recent strikes as well as their hopes for a speedy and satisfactory resolution with striking actors.
It’s impossible to tell what the long-term future of Netflix is, but in the here and now, the company is in a much better place than it was a year and a half ago.
The company is also optimistic about “increased opportunities to license more hit titles to complement our original programming” (including Suits and, more recently, Star Trek: Prodigy). It sees this as a win/win approach in which it can “deliver additional value for our members…as well as for rights holders.”
It’s impossible to tell what the long-term future of Netflix is, but in the here and now, the company is in a much better place than it was a year and a half ago. Subscribers are up, revenue is up, and Netflix has a major opportunity to once again establish itself as the dominant streaming service.
With the addition of a few more major licensed shows and the ability to resume work shooting original programming like Stranger Things when the strike is resolved, Netlifx may finally become the ultimate home for cord-cutters looking for a one-stop shop for all their entertainment needs.
