English Entertainment
Netflix becomes bigger than HBO
NMUMBAI: Orange is the New Black may have helped make Netflix the new HBO with investors.
On Monday, Netflix reported a U.S. paid subscriber leap, which according to analysts, puts the streaming service squarely ahead of Time Warner’s HBO.
The advances by Netflix spotlight a winning formula around original programming to attract new membership. Original titles such as Orange is the New Black and the Emmy-winning show, House of Cards, were big attractions for subscribers. Binge viewing of these titles have turned Netflix into a hit maker for the new generation.
Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos remarked that the only reason to adapt the forecast model for the second season of Orange Is the New Black was because they were highly confident in the model and the quality of the show.
Netflix’s U.S. paid subscribers jumped to 29.9 million in the third quarter, up from 28.6 million in June, passing HBO’s 28.7 million, according to market researcher SNL Kagan.
Wall Street investors applauded Netflix’s programming results. Shares of Netflix rocketed 10 percent, at $391.39, in after-hours trading on the news. Overall membership at Netflix soared in the quarter from last year. It also reported more than 33 percent jump in members from last year, at 40 million compared with less than 30 million in the prior period.
Since Orange has been a great success for them, Netflix wants to do more content like Orange.
Netflix quarterly results beat estimates, top to bottom, according to a survey of forecasts from Thomson Reuters. Company net income popped 315 percent, at $31.8 million, compared with a year ago. Revenue nudged past estimates by $6 million on just over $1.1 billion in the quarter. Earnings per share of 52 cents beat analyst forecasts for 49 cents in the period.
Netflix’s international audience jumped by 1.4 million new members from a year ago, driven by Nordic and Netherlands expansion efforts, the company said.
