Netflix beat their subscriber estimates for the second quarter thanks to growth overseas. The company announced it reached 209 million subscribers in Q2 2021. The company added 1.54 million this quarter, slightly higher than its projected 1 million subscribers (compared to 10.09 million in the same quarter last year). They are forecasting an additional 3.5 million subscribers over the next quarter. Last quarter, Netflix announced they reached 207.67 million subscribers in Q1 2021.
While overall subscriber growth was up, paid memberships were down slightly in the U.S. and Canada during Q2 2021 to the tune of 400,000 memberships.
After missing targeted goals in a big way with their Q1 report for this year, Netflix has spent the past few months seemingly focused on changing things up and thinking outside the box.
In spite of rising competition and a general saturation of the domestic market when it comes to streaming, Netflix remains king in both brand recognition and market share. However, it’s become clear that beating the same drum for the next year won’t be enough to fend off other streamers like disney+ and HBO Max who provide viewers with their own exclusive, must-see content and, in the case of HBO Max, a choice in subscription plan that caters to the 60% of budget-minded viewers that have already opted to make the switch to ad-supported streaming.
One path Netflix looks to be taking is offering gaming options through its service alongside its movies and shows.
New hire Mike Verdu, formerly of Facebook, will join the company as Vice President of game development and work towards the streamer’s goal of becoming not just the most popular source for streaming video but for streaming video games as well.
Netflix is planning to start offering game content within the next year. The company’s deep pockets and already-loyal customer base put it in a good position to not only finally lead a successful charge into the video game streaming frontier, but possibly even be a leader in the market.
Earlier this month, Netflix also officially hired N’Jeri Eaton as its first director of podcast programming. Eaton was previously head of content for Apple Podcasts and senior manager of program acquisitions at NPR.
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.
So far, the streaming giant’s podcasts have primarily been companions to shows and movies available to stream on the platform, including The Irishman, The Crown, The Witcher, Shadow and Bone, and Stranger Things. Netflix also released episodes of a comedy podcast titled “Netflix Is a Daily Joke.”
Netflix may be looking to bolster its podcast presence under this new, experienced leadership. Could a Spotify-like roster of original podcasts be a way that Netflix plans to diversify the offerings under its name?
While analysts feel that Netflix’s best current course of action is to provide an AVOD option or jump on the trend of exclusively streaming live sporting events, the streamer has not publicly signaled a desire to do either.
Netflix has never been a “we can do it too” kind of company. With their history of market disruption and industry invention, it stands to assume that Netflix probably wants its next strategic move to be one that no one sees coming and everyone says is impossible.