Netflix cuts subscription rates in 116 countries, adds 1.75 million paid subscribers in Q1
- Netflix, an OTT entertainment provider, has reduced its subscription fees in 116 countries.
Netflix, an OTT entertainment provider, has reduced its subscription fees in 116 countries. These price cuts occurred after the OTT juggernaut Netflix saw a 30 percent rise in consumer engagement and a 24 percent spike in revenue YoY in India following the debut of a low-cost membership plan in the nation in 2021.
"These reductions -- combined with an improved slate -- helped grow engagement in India by nearly 30 per cent year-on-year while F/X (forex) neutral revenue growth in 2022 accelerated to 24 per cent (versus 19 per cent in 2021). Learning from this success, we reduced prices in an additional 116 countries in Q1," Netflix said in its Q4FY23 earnings report.
Less than 5% of the OTT player's total revenue for the fiscal year 2022 came from the nations where the price was slashed. "We believe that increasing adoption in these markets will help to maximize our revenue in longer term," the company said.
During the quarter ended in March 2023, Netflix's global net income fell by nearly 18% to USD 1,305 million from USD 1,597 million in the corresponding period of the previous year. However, Netflix's revenue rose by 3.7% to USD 8,162 million during the reporting quarter from USD 7,868 million during Q4FY22. Globally, the company's paid membership climbed by 4.9% YoY to 232.5 million during Q4FY23. Netflix said it expects its net income to decline by about 1.6 per cent to USD 1,283 million in the April-June 2023 quarter while revenue to increase by 3.4 per cent to USD 8,242 million.
"Engagement on our ads tier is above our initial expectations and, as expected, we've seen very little switching from our standard and premium plans," Netflix said.
On Tuesday, Netflix said that the first quarter of the year saw a record-breaking 232.5 million members. According to Asia Nikkei, Netflix on Tuesday revealed that it attracted a net 1.75 million paid streaming members in the first quarter of 2023, with the Asia-Pacific region driving the expansion. The industry behemoth in streaming also said that it is closing its DVD mailing business. "Our goal has always been to provide the best service for our members but as the DVD business continues to shrink that's going to become increasingly hard," the company reported to ANI.
The premium password-sharing plan, which tightens down on sharing account passwords with higher charges, will now be postponed to the second quarter from 1st quarter of the current fiscal year, the company revealed on Tuesday.
"While this means that some of the expected membership growth and revenue benefit will fall in Q3 (third quarter) rather than Q2, we believe this will result in a better outcome for both our members and our business," Netflix said in a letter to shareholders on Tuesday.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Business NewsCompaniesNewsNetflix cuts subscription rates in 116 countries, adds 1.75 million paid subscribers in Q1
First Published:19 Apr 2023, 09:51 PM IST
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