Culture
Netflix viewership continues to grow despite streaming wars
Disney+ and Apple TV+ have yet to put a dent in Netflix's success.
On Tuesday, Netflix released its Q4 findings and revealed that, in spite of growing competition from Disney+ and Apple TV+, it still increased its viewership in the last three months of 2019. According to the company, Netflix expanded its subscriber base "both globally and in the United States on a year over year basis."
In total, the company boasts over 167 million paid viewers and in the last three months of 2019, it said it won nearly 8.8 million new members. This is progress for the entertainment streaming service as it exceeded its expectations, the company noted, which was originally 7.6 million.
Monarchy, mythical adventures, and a stalker won fans — Of particular note, Netflix's You and The Witcher have won massive global audiences. According to the company's analysis, You went from being a series with a "modest audience" to a "global phenomenon." The Crown, too, has won critical praise and loyal viewership, Netflix noted, with "over 21 million member households" watching the series' third season.
Perhaps most stunningly, Netflix noted, The Witcher became its "biggest season one TV series ever." Of note, "76 million member households chose to watch this action-packed fantasy," the company stated.
Local stories find local love — Netflix's expansive digital library isn't limited to American titles only. As the company noted in its Q4 findings, Netflix titles under the Korean, Indian, Turkish, Japanese, Swedish, and other language categories have won dedicated viewers across the globe. K-content, much like K-pop, is particularly famous and Netflix has zeroed in on that market by introducing more K-dramas on its platform.
Overcoming price hurdles — While most of its Q4 findings paint a positive picture of growth for the company, Netflix admitted that January announcements about increasing its subscription price affected viewership in the United States and Canada. Overall, though, it recovered from that hiccup and continued ranking over Disney+ and Apple TV+. No offence to Baby Yoda.
