Netflix Adds 7.66 Million Subscribers in Q4 2022, Jumping to 230.75 Million Globally
Industry analysts have been anxiously awaiting data regarding Netflix’s subscriber numbers since the launch of its new ad-supported tier, which the service introduced on Nov. 3, 2022. The world’s largest streaming service released its fourth-quarter earnings report on Thursday, and the Q4 numbers exceeded the company’s previous expectations.
The report shows that Netflix gained 7.66 million subscribers in Q4, bringing its total to 230.75 million global subscribers. The increase included a jump of 910,000 users in the United States and Canada, bringing the service’s total subscriber base in those two countries to 74.3M, a decline of 920K over the same period in 2021. The service saw more substantial increases internationally, with Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) accounting for an additional 3.2M new customers, the Asia-Pacific region growing with 1.8M, and Latin America adding 1.76.
The numbers from Netflix indicate that its ad-supported tier did not yet prove to be highly beneficial to the company during the first months in which it was available to customers. When the streamer released its Q3 earnings, the company forecast that it would see an increase of 4.5 million global users in Q4.
The rise in subscribers represents a year-over-year increase of nearly 9M customers from Netflix's fourth quarter of 2021, when the service claimed 221 million global users. Netflix is the first streamer to announce its subscriber numbers from the last portion of 2022, but in November Disney+ announced it had 164.2 million global subscribers and Hulu claimed an additional 47.2 million.
Warner Bros. Discovery no longer reports its two streaming services’ subscriber numbers separately, but it last announced it had 94.9 million users between HBO Max and discovery+. Paramount+ hit 46 million global users in Q3, seeing an increase of 4.7 million users in that quarter. Neither Prime Video nor Apple TV+ report their monthly user totals publicly.
The latest quarterly report closes out a tumultuous year for Netflix. The service saw some painful lows, including two straight quarters of net subscriber losses in Q1 and Q2. Netflix also had to launch its ad-supported tier without content from certain studios, as it could not come to an agreement with those content providers regarding a fair split of new ad revenues before Nov. 3. That could help explain why the new “Basic With Ads” plan was the service's least popular choice among customers when it was released.
The underwhelming response to the ad-supported tier amongst Netflix customers would go a long way toward explaining why the company was reportedly forced to refund some of its advertisers' money before the end of 2022.
Still, it wasn’t all bad news for the world’s largest streamer in 2022. Netflix made heavy investments in its mobile games last year, and co-CEO Ted Sarandos called early returns on those investments “promising” as recently as December. Netflix also saw its viewing volume in November rise at the highest rate of any service, led by record-breaking series like “Wednesday” and “Dahmer-Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.”
Netflix also saw its international content help drive new sign-ups in 2022. Over 60% of global Netflix users watched a TV series or movie originating in South Korea last year, and the country became the second-largest producer of popular content on the service behind the United States. Overall, less than 50% of the content in Netflix's current library is American-made.
The upcoming year could be pivotal for Netflix. The service has announced its long-tested plans to curb password-sharing among its users will take effect in 2023, a move which figures to be highly unpopular among Netflix customers. On the brighter side, Netflix also plans to debut its first-ever live event in March, when it will stream the stand-up comedy special “Chris Rock: Selective Outrage.”
Netflix
Netflix is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 3,000+ movies, 2,000+ TV Shows, and Netflix Originals like Stranger Things, Squid Game, The Crown, Tiger King, and Bridgerton. They are constantly adding new shows and movies. Some of their Academy Award-winning exclusives include Roma, Marriage Story, Mank, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.