Netflix passes 65m subs, higher prices planned
July 16, 2015
Streaming giant Netflix saw subscriber additions rise nearly 94 per cent year on year to about 3.3 million in the second quarter, beating the company’s forecast of 2.5 million.
The service now boasts 65 million global subscribers – with 42 million of those in the US. Netflix posted revenue of $1.64 billion (€1.5bn), an increase of 23 per cent year over year. Netflix said that original shows, such as House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, proved to be the biggest draw for new subscribers.
The company has plans to reach 200 countries by the end of 2016, including China, where it said it was “continuing to explore options”. It will launch in Italy, Portugal and Japan before the end of this year.
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has revealed that the company is preparing to carefully push consumers toward higher-priced plans in the coming years, speaking specifically about its huge US market.
“We want to take it very slow,” Hastings said. “Over the next decade I think we’ll be able to add more content and have more value and then price that appropriately.”