Netflix brought in more worldwide subscribers than expected but suffered from slow membership growth in the U.S. and Canada in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to the streaming giant’s latest earnings report.
Overall, Netflix racked up 8.3 million new subscribers worldwide in Q4 2019, well above 7.17 million projected by analysts. However, domestic additions came in at 550,000 during this period, below the forecasted 589,000. Further, this falls quite short of the 1.75 million new American and Canadian subscribers added in Q4 2018.
Netflix now has 167.1 million subscribers worldwide. In its quarterly shareholder letter, Netflix attributed the “low membership growth” in the U.S. and Canada to recent price changes and new competition in the streaming space.
While it didn’t mention specific competitors, the company is no doubt referring to Disney+ and Apple TV+, which both launched in November.
Disney+, in particular, was only available in Canada, the U.S., the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand, which explains why subscriber growth in most international markets was unaffected. In fact, Netflix said it achieved a record number of net paid subscriber additions in the Europe/Middle East and Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific regions.
Notably, this is the first time that Netflix has combined U.S. and Canada into one region in its earnings. The company says it will continue to do this going forward.
Elsewhere, Netflix reported $5.47 billion USD ($7.15 billion CAD) in revenue, above expectations of $5.45 billion ($7.12 billion CAD).
Looking back on the quarter, Netflix singled out several notable content releases and revealed viewership data for each.
To start, Netflix says 76 million households watched The Witcher in its first four weeks. Netflix says the Henry Cavill-led fantasy epic is tracking to be its most-watched first season of an original series to date.
Other top-viewed shows include the second season of psychological thriller You (projected to hit 54 million households in its first four weeks) and historical drama The Crown‘s third season (21 million households in its first month).
In terms of films, Netflix said Michael Bay’s action flick 6 Underground (starring Vancouver’s own Ryan Reynolds) was watched by 83 million homes in its first four weeks. While it didn’t reveal specific viewership for each, Netflix also highlighted the critical performance of The Irishman, Marriage Story and The Two Popes, noting that it topped all other Hollywood studios with 24 Oscar nominations.
Looking forward, Netflix says content highlights of Q1 2020 include the just-released second season of Sex Education, as well as upcoming new seasons of Narcos: Mexico and Altered Carbon, the sequel to teen romance film To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before and action-thriller Spenser Confidential with Mark Wahlberg.
Image credit: Netflix
Source: Netflix
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