Netflix Added 5.89 Million Subscribers in 2023’s Second Quarter; Customer Base Grows to 238.39M Worldwide
The world’s largest streaming service increased its massive global subscriber base this quarter, passing many of the industry’s expectations. Netflix released its second-quarter earnings report on Wednesday and the company grew to 238.39 million subscribers, up 5.89M from the 232.5 million global users it claimed at the end of Q1. The improvement marks an 8% year-over-year improvement, the largest such gain since the fourth quarter of 2021.
The gains include 1.17M new customers in the United States and Canada, two countries that are always grouped together in Netflix’s user measurements. The growth represents a 3.12% increase over the corresponding quarter in 2022, following four-straight quarters of subscriber declines. The UCAN subscriber total comes in at 75.57M, which represents the region’s new high, besting the 75.22M achieved in Q4 2021.
Similarly, the Asia-Pacific region grew by 1.07M subscribers, and Europe, the Middle East, and Africa added 2.43 users. Latin America grew by 1.22 customers. The EMEA and Latin America totals also mark record totals in those regions of the world.
The company touted the success noting, “We are revenue and paid membership positive vs. prior to the launch of paid sharing across every region in our latest launch.” The company posted quarterly revenue of $8.52 billion, a 7.5% yoy increase, leading to an operating profit of $1.8B, which was essentially in line with corporate projections.
Netflix managed to dominate portions of the news cycle between April and June by officially enacting long-awaited rules against password sharing in May. Users can no longer allow friends or family members outside their household to use their Netflix account for free, though they can be added to accounts for an additional $7.99 monthly fee on top of a subscription.
The rules have not had any measurable negative impact on the company. In fact, Netflix saw its four largest single-day signup numbers in history in the days following the introduction of the rules. The company improved some features on its “Standard with Ads” plan, giving users who were sharing the account of a paid subscriber a cheap option to watch the service without angering the person who had been allowing them to share. The company now allows users to transfer profiles between existing accounts to streamline this process.
As part of efforts to promote its Standard with Ads tier, Netflix has discontinued its cheapest ad-free offering in Canada, as well as the United States and United Kingdom. The move is intended to drive more customers to the Standard with Ads tier, especially since Netflix still lags behind Disney+ in terms of new sign-ups to its ad-supported plan.
One of the biggest stumbles from Netflix in the past quarter had nothing to do with its password-sharing rules. The company tried to stream a reunion episode of its popular dating reality series “Love is Blind” live, but technical glitches kept most viewers from seeing the stream until after it had concluded.
The company is preparing to get back on the livestreaming horse, however. Netflix wants to bring together celebrities from its Formula One docuseries “Formula One: Drive to Survive” and its golf show “Full Swing” for a live golf tournament sometime this fall, if it can get its ducks in a row before then. The streamer has also been bolstering its sports programming, including the new NFL-themed show “Quarterback,” an upcoming docuseries on the U.S. Women’s National Team at the 2023 FIFA World Cup, and a show detailing the successes and failures of the 1990s-era Dallas Cowboys.
But even a company as successful as Netflix must mind its bottom line. The streamer plans to cut $300 million in spending in 2023, though users should view it as more of a belt-tightening exercise than an oncoming content reaping as so many other streamers have had to go through. Netflix is also wary of events overseas and has registered a protest to a new law working that is way through the English parliament that regulates how streamers portray politically or socially-charged events.
Content-wise, the biggest story from Netflix in the past three months was the news that it had agreed to a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery to license HBO original titles for the first time. The HBO comedy “Insecure” is available to stream on Netflix now, and more titles will follow on soon.
In gaming news, Netflix hired a former executive of 343 Industries, the company behind the “Halo” franchise developed a AAA multiplatform game for the streamer. It’s part of Netflix’s long-term goal to offer cloud gaming, while at the same time developing mobile games like “Sonic Prime Dash” to help users think of the company as a place to watch video and play games.
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.