STREAMING

Netflix records an increase of 9.33 million paid subscribers in the first quarter of 2024

Netflix announced, on Thursday (19), that it gained 9.33 million paid subscribers in the first quarter of 2024, exceeding (far) the estimates of analysts who bet on just 3.93 million. According to Variety, streaming also exceeded forecasts in the financial sector: its net profit was US$2.33 billion, higher than expected.

According to Netflix, the platform now has almost 270 million paid users globally;

The results consolidate the impressive last quarter of 2023: the platform gained a higher-than-expected 13.1 million subscribers, a record for a fourth quarter;

For the second quarter, Netflix forecasts revenue of US$9.49 billion and net profit of US$2.06 billion;

Despite the good numbers, however, streaming announced that, from 2025, it will no longer report the number of new customers.

Some of the programming that drove Netflix's stellar results includes:

-The live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Airbender;

-The science fiction series The Three-Body Problem;

-Crime Tycoons, by Guy Ritchie;

-The new season of Blind Wedding;

-The suspense limited series The Grand Illusion;

-Griselda by Sofia Vergara;

-Tyler Perry's film Mea Culpa;

-Damsel (Maiden), starring Millie Bobby Brown;

between others.

For all of 2024, Netflix expects revenue growth of 13% to 15% (compared to 6.7% growth in 2022) and an operating margin of 25% (up from the previous forecast of 24%) .

Following Meta, which announced in February that it would no longer detail the number of daily and monthly Facebook users each quarter, Netflix announced during its results presentation that, starting next year, it will no longer report the number of new subscribers that joined the service (something that can also be observed at Apple).

The decision is expected to impact the industry, which has been fueled by the battle for streaming subscribers for years. With the change, the focus will be on highlighting revenue growth and the amount of time spent on its platform.

''In our early days, when we had little revenue or profit, membership growth was a strong indicator of our future potential. But now we are generating very substantial profit and free cash flow.''...A company statement said

The company noted, however, that it will “announce important subscriber milestones as we surpass them,” meaning we will likely hear about specific results again only when it surpasses 300 million paid users.

mundophone