Netflix revels in international growth spurt as original content strategy pays off
Netflix has confounded expectations by posting bumper growth in its all-important subscriber base as it added nearly 2 million new users in its home US market and 5 million internationally to reach its largest audience share to date.
These numbers smashed predictions of a rise of 1.38 and 3.78m respectively and suggest that Netflix’s high-risk strategy of ending rights deals to focus on original programming is now paying dividends.
This strategy had focused on the English-language markets thus far with orginal shows such as Stranger Things and The Crown but has more recently met success with a Brazilian sci-fi thriller called 3%.
In a statement Netflix said: “Gratifyingly, our first Brazilian original series 3%, a sci-fi, post-apocalyptic thriller, premiered as one of the most watched originals in Brazil and played well throughout Latin America. Moreover, bucking conventional wisdom, millions of US members have watched the show dubbed and subtitled into English, making 3% the first Portuguese language television show to travel meaningfully beyond Latin America and Portugal.”
To bulk up content Netflix will also focus on popular genres such as Japanese anime and Turkish dramas as part of its $6bn content budget for 2016.