iWorld
Netflix loses subscribers, to roll out an ad-supported subscription plan
Mumbai: After sticking to only subscription-based plans for a long time, Netflix is currently considering rolling out an ad-supported subscription package for its consumers. The company expects to streamline and nail down the ad-supported services in the next two years.
“Those that have followed Netflix know that I’ve been against the complexity of advertising and a big fan of the simplicity of subscription,” said Netflix’s co-CEO Reed Hastings on Tuesday. He announced the ad-supported subscription plan at a time when the company’s subscriber growth slowed down tremendously. The company revealed a significant downfall in its paying subscriber numbers with a loss of 0.2 million paying subscribers during the first quarter of 2022.
“But, I’m a bigger fan of consumer choice. And allowing consumers who want a lower price and are advertising tolerant, to get what they want, makes a lot of sense,” Hastings added.
Excluding Russia’s numbers, where the company has shut down its service after Russia invaded Ukraine, the company gained 0.5 million subscribers during the quarter, which is lower than its forecast of 2.5 million. Netflix expects to lose another two million subscribers during the next quarter due to macro factors, higher penetration and competition from other streamers.
Netflix reported $7.8 billion in revenues during the quarter growing by 9.8 per cent year-on-year. The company’s operating income stood at $1.97 billion and net income stood at $1.59 billion.
Its global streaming paid members declined from 221.84 million to 221.64 million during the quarter. Additionally, Netflix reported revenue of $917 billion in the APAC region with paid memberships at 33.72 million up from 32.63 million in the last quarter. It added 1.09 million paying subscribers with an average revenue per member of $9.21. In contrast, Netflix’s average revenue per member (ARM) in the US stood at $14.91.
Netflix lost 0.3 million subscribers in Europe Middle East Africa markets (where it added 0.4 million if you exclude Russia’s impact). Similarly, it lost 0.4 million subscribers in the Latin American region. The company saw a decline of 0.6 million in the UCAN region (US and Canada). Only the Asia Pacific and China (APAC) markets saw an increase in net subscribers with ‘nice’ growth in markets such as Japan, India, Philippines, Thailand and Taiwan. Netflix estimated that over the long-term most of its subscriber growth will come from outside the US.
Interestingly, Netflix estimates that in addition to 222 million paying households, the service is being shared with over 100 million additional households including over 30 million in the UCAN region. “Account sharing as a percentage of our paying membership hasn’t changed much over the years, but, coupled with the first factor, means it’s harder to grow membership in many markets – an issue that was obscured by our COVID growth,” the company said in a statement.
Netflix is testing different approaches to monetize sharing, and in March last year introduced two new paid sharing features, where current members have the choice to pay for additional households, in three markets in Latin America. “As we work to monetize sharing, growth in ARM, revenue and viewing will become more important indicators of our success than membership growth,” it said.
In Q4 2021, Netflix completed the acquisitions of visual effects company Scanline and gaming studio Boss Fight Entertainment, which had a negative $125 million in cash. The company also announced the purchase of Helsinki-based gaming company Next Games and expects to complete the transaction in the second half of 2022.
The company said that over the long-term it will pursue double-digit revenue growth, increase operating revenue faster and generate growing positive free cash flow.
iWorld
JioStar revenue hits Rs 9,784 crore as cricket fuels 22 per cent growth
A surge in digital viewership and sports dominance fuels a blockbuster quarter for the media giant
MUMBAI: JioStar is batting on a flat pitch. The media titan’s fourth-quarter results for the financial year 2026 reveal a business scaling new heights, propelled by an unprecedented appetite for premium sports and digital-first storytelling.
Gross revenue for the quarter soared by 22.15 per cent to Rs 9,784 crore, up from Rs 8,010 crore in the third quarter. Operationally, the momentum was equally strong; revenue from operations climbed 21 per cent to Rs 8,372 crore. These figures underscore the firm’s successful integration following the Reliance and Disney merger, creating a dominant force in the Indian market.
The annual performance has been nothing short of a spectacle. Full-year gross revenue reached a massive Rs 36,248 crore, while annual profit after tax hit Rs 3,210 crore. This rapid expansion reflects JioStar’s ability to capture and monetise the massive growth in India’s media consumption.
Cricket proved to be the ultimate growth engine. The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 and TATA IPL 2026 delivered “record-breaking viewership” across both television and digital screens. The World Cup final alone drew a global peak concurrency of 72.5 million on JioHotstar, cementing its status as the nation’s premier streaming destination. On television, JioStar maintained a commanding 34.2 per cent viewership share, reaching a staggering 810 million viewers nationwide.
The digital numbers were just as impressive. JioHotstar averaged 500 million monthly active users, driven by consistent subscriber growth and innovative AI-led content discovery tools. These advancements are ensuring that JioStar remains at the cutting edge of the global “Race for Attention.”
With a firm grip on the country’s most valuable sporting rights and a rapidly growing digital footprint, JioStar is perfectly positioned for the future. It has built the ultimate content powerhouse—one that is ready to dominate the Indian living room for years to come.
