Netflix has just crossed the symbolic threshold of 200 million subscribers worldwide. Despite competition from Disney + and rising prices, the streaming leader attracted 37 million additional customers last year. Thanks to these excellent numbers, the number 1 in VOD hopes to achieve positive cash flow as soon as possible.
This Tuesday, January 19, Netflix published its annual financial results for the year 2020. The service now counts 203.7 million paying subscribers in the world. In the space of two years, Netflix has nearly doubled its total customer base. At the start of 2018, the American giant still had only 111 million users. Netflix therefore maintains a solid lead over its rival, Disney + (86 million customers worldwide).
In 2020, 37 million Internet users subscribed to a Netflix subscription. The service notably pulled benefit from containment measures against Covid-19. For comparison, 27.8 million new users were counted over the entire year 2019. During the fourth quarter of the past year, Netflix gained 8.5 million subscribers, against only 2.2 million in the previous quarter. The streaming service points out that 83% of recent subscribers do not reside in the United States or Canada.
Netflix does not know the crisis
In the fourth quarter of 2020, Netflix generated revenue of $ 6.6 billion, up 21.5% from last year, and net income of $ 542 million. These excellent figures are due both to the increase in its subscriber base and to the increase in its prices. As a result, the average subscription revenue soared to $ 11.02 last year.
Los Santos’ service quickly hopes “Achieve a positive cash flow”. To finance the original series and films in the Netflix catalog, the group has so far relied on countless loans. Thus, the American service has accumulated a negative cash flow of 14.4 billion dollars in 2019. Thanks to the increase in its profits, the leader of the VOD believes that it can do without foreign investments “To finance (its) daily operations” in the years to come.
The announcement was very well received by investors. Netflix stock market soared 13% on Wall Street in the wake of the announcement. The title currently stands at over $ 500. With a market capitalization of $ 220 billion, Netflix is ​​ninth place on the Nasdaq 100, or 1.4% of the total index capitalization.
Netflix bets on its original series to bury Disney +
Netflix took advantage of the announcement of its financial results to discuss the reception of its latest successful series. Among the group’s latest hits is The Chronicle of Bridgerton by Shonda Rhimes. “This title turned out to be extremely popular” Netflix claims without revealing any numbers. The press release states, however, that 100 million subscribers watched The Crown, the historic series dedicated to the British royal family, since its launch. Finally, Netflix ensures that 70 million subscribers watched Lupine, the French series with Omar Sy, in 28 days. It’s even more than The Lady’s Game (62 million views). Note that Netflix considers that an Internet user has seen a series after only 5 minutes of viewing.
In 2021, Netflix will spend $ 19 billion to produce new movies and original series. It’s a record. Netflix has never invested so much money in content production. Thanks to this colossal investment, the service should put online 70 films of his own during the year. Thanks to this strategy, the streaming service hopes to withstand competition from Disney +, the new kid with long teeth. Mickey’s service recently announced the arrival of many spin-off series from the Marvel and Star Wars universe, including The Book Of Boba Fett. In addition, Disney + will soon include a new section for adults, called Star.
The Disney slingshot doesn’t scare Netflix. With its catalog rich in varied content, the firm hopes to win 6 million additional subscribers during the first quarter of 2021. “We continue to work hard to increase our share of screen time against our major rivals” Netflix explains in its press release. In order to walk on the Disney + flower beds, Netflix notably focus on film and animated series production. On this ground, the catalog of Disney + is quite logically much richer than that of Netflix.
