Netflix raises prices as it posts record subscriber growth in fourth-quarter earnings
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Streaming service’s bet on live events helped reel in 19 million more subscribers in holiday-season quarter. Netflix added nearly 19 million subscribers during the holiday season quarter to help propel its earnings beyond analysts’ projections, signaling that the video streaming service’s expansion into live programming is paying off. It is also raising prices.
The numbers released on Tuesday covered a October-December period highlighted by Netflix’s streaming of a widely watched fight between the YouTube sensation Jake Paul and the former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson in addition to two National Football League games on Christmas Day.
Although Netflix’s interest in live programming is primarily tied to its efforts to sell more commercials, it also appears to be giving current subscribers another reason to stick with the service while also reeling in more viewers to pay for the service. Netflix ended last year with more than 300 million worldwide subscribers, an increase of 41 million from 2023.
The breakdown marked the last time Netflix plans to provide a quarterly count on its total subscribers as management tries to get investors to intensify their focus on the Los Gatos, California, company’s financial performance. And those figures were robust in the most recent quarter, with Netflix earning $1.9bn, or $4.27 per share, nearly doubling from the same time in 2023. Revenue climbed 16% from the same 2023 period to $10.2bn.
To juice its finances even more this year, Netflix announced in its shareholder letter that it will be raising its prices in the US, Canada, Portugal and Argentina in the upcoming weeks. The letter did not specify the new prices, but Netflix typically increases the costs of its plans by a $1 or $2 per month.
