Despite losing $39 million in collateral damage thanks to Kevin Spacey, Netflix came out of 2017 a big winner according to their fourth quarterly report of 2017.
In the three months leading up to December, the streaming company saw revenue surge by $3.3 billion and profits hit a staggering $186 million, adding a whopping 8.3 million members to their subscription database in the process.
In further good news, users dedicated, on average, 9% more of their precious time binge-watching Netflix in 2017 than they did in 2016, meaning the small price hike Netflix implemented in October was a calculated risk that came off big time.
Additionally, international subscribers surpassed the US number for the first time, and are now in the lead with 53% of the total, an increase that correlates with the fact that a majority of the new original content is being aimed at international markets.
Netflix said: “We believe our big investments in content are paying off,” and they’re probably right. They made history last week as the first streaming service to receive eight Academy Award nominations, including four for feature film Mudbound.
With an $8 billion budget allocated for even more new content this year, the era of Netflix seems set to continue, and Disney’s streaming service - set for release in 2019 - is going to have its work cut out catching up.
