Amid the pandemic, Netflix adds 16 million new subscribers
Even as the coronavirus crisis continues to wreak havoc and most businesses remain halted around the world, there is one service that is literally striving — online video streaming. And it's not really hard to imagine why — productions are stalled, movie theaters remain shuttered, and celebrities, as well as people, are confined to their homes. Amidst all this, Netflix is making bumper gains.
Netflix added more than 15.7 million (1.57 crore) global subscribers in the first quarter of this year. It is reportedly the biggest three-month jump that the company has witnessed in its 13-year-long streaming history. This takes the giant's total subscriber count to 183 million (18.3 crore). The company said it now expects to add another 7.5 million (75 lakh) subscribers in 2020's second quarter.
The figures, released as part of the company's first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, revealed that Netflix more than doubled its first quarter profits in 2020. The gains jumped to a whopping $709 million as compared to $344 million recorded in first quarter of 2019. Further, its revenue shot up 28%, to $5.7 billion. However, the streaming service's share price remained mostly unchanged in after-hours trading.
Despite the bumper earnings, the company's letter to shareholders was rather emotional, focusing mostly on the pandemic. "We have never seen a future more uncertain or unsettling," the letter read. "The coronavirus has reached every corner of the world and, in the absence of a widespread treatment or vaccine, no one knows how or when this terrible crisis will end," the statement added.
While Netflix welcomed the bumper growth, it noted it is looking at a tough road ahead. The company said it is "seeing temporarily higher viewing and increased membership growth." However, it noted this could bring issues in the future, once the dust settles. "We expect viewing to decline and membership growth to decelerate as home confinement ends, which we hope is soon," it said.
Netflix is not only service to record a boost in times of social-distancing. Disney+, a fresh streaming service, launched by Disney, has already crossed more than 50 million subscriber-mark. Talking of the accomplishment, Netflix's CEO, Reed Hastings said, "I've been so impressed with Disney+'s execution...I've never seen such a good execution of incumbent learning the new way and mastering it...My hat's off to them."
