Netflix announced a major boost in sign-ups in the fourth quarter on Tuesday. The company added more than 13 million subscribers for the quarter, compared to Wall Street’s expectation of 8.7 million.
Netflix’s stock jumped more than 4% in after-hours trading Tuesday.
While Netflix added 1.2 million paid subscribers in the fourth quarter in the US, much of the strongest subscriber growth came internationally from Europe and Asia.
In the past year, the company implemented a number of initiatives aimed at adding subscribers, including a password-sharing crackdown that pushed password “borrowers” into creating their own subscriptions, and the introduction of a lower-priced advertising-supported subscription tier for $6.99.
Earlier this month, Amy Reinhard, Netflix’s president of advertising, said Netflix’s ad tier hit more than 23 million monthly memberships.
In a letter to shareholders Tuesday, Netflix declared its password sharing crackdown a success.
“We believe we’ve successfully addressed account sharing, ensuring that when people enjoy Netflix they pay for the service too,” it said.
Looking ahead to 2024, Netflix said it sees “big opportunities” to further improve its core TV and film content, while also broadening its offering into gaming, live entertainment and sports programming.
Earlier on Tuesday, Netflix announced that it had acquired the exclusive rights to air “WWE Raw” live, currently seen on Comcast’s USA cable network. The 10-year deal is valued at more than $5 billion, according to a company filing.
But in a letter to shareholders on Tuesday, Netflix shot down any speculation that it will venture into the traditional cable TV space.
“We’re not interested in acquiring linear assets,” the company said in its letter. ”But we expect our industry to remain highly competitive given: the franchise strength and programming expertise within traditional entertainment companies; ongoing heavy investment from large tech players like YouTube, Amazon and Apple; and broader competition for people’s time, including gaming and social media (TikTok, Instagram etc.)”
The company finished 2023 with 12% revenue growth, up from 6% growth in 2022.
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