Netflix did not expect so much. While losing nearly 1.2 million subscribers in the first half of the year, the company managed to stop the bleeding during the third quarter. 2.4 million subscribers have joined the platform between July and September, bringing the total of followers to 223 million.
Not only is Netflix recovering, but it is also beating its subscriber record dating from the end of 2021 (221.8 million), after two years of a pandemic which were favorable to it.
This new impetus allows Netflix to record $7.9 billion in revenue and $1.4 billion in net profit. This is more than what analysts had hoped for, who had rather expected a net profit of 966 million dollars.
“Thank God we’re done with the down quarters” exclaimed Reed Hastings, co-CEO of Netflix, during the traditional videoconference with investors. The latter were visibly reassured since the title of the company jumped 14% at the close of the New York Stock Exchange, indicates Le Monde.
Netflix sees the end of the tunnel
During the first six months of the year, Netflix saw its subscribers flee. The fault, perhaps, with successive increases in prices or a less convincing catalog. In its press release, the company says it has learned lessons from this bad patch. “The recipe is to please our members” she assures.
Did the streaming market leader underestimate its competitors? As it lost subscribers, Netflix saw rival Disney gaining more and more followers. In August 2022, Disney + had 221 million subscribers, after only three years of existence, and took the leading position.
For the time being, Netflix is therefore back on the throne, pending the results of Disney which will be announced on November 8, 2022. At Netflix, we want to be confident. “After a difficult first half, we believe we are on the path to accelerated growth again” assures the company.
4.5 million more subscribers thanks to the offer with ads
If Netflix is so positive, it’s because it has just launched a new offer with advertising. Proposed at 5.99 euros per month in France (6.99 dollars in the United States), this formula will provide almost the same services as the offer Essential but for a lower price. In exchange, you will have to agree to watch advertising spots at the start and during viewing, for a maximum of 5 minutes per hour, with spots of 15 to 30 seconds and no more than 60 consecutive seconds of advertising for series (75 seconds for movies).
If this new offer has aroused an outcry in France (paying for advertising, where are we going?), it promises a bright future for the company. Netflix expects 4.5 million additional subscribers in the last quarter of the year, a total of 227.5 million subscribers at the end of the year. But beware, Disney remains in its wake: the platform has also launched an offer with advertising in the United States. Above all, Netflix intends to tackle account sharing from 2023, which should not please its subscribers.
