Netflix posts strong Q1 revenues of $3.7bn

Netflix has posted strong Q1 revenues of $3.7bn (£2.6bn), a 42 per cent year-on-year increase. The figures come off the back of strong subscriber growth. In the quarter, Netflix added 7.4m new subscribers, including 1.96m in the US and 5.46m elsewhere. That’s a 50 per cent year-on-year increase on the number of new subscribers it added in the previous year. It now boasts 118.9m subscribers, a 20 per cent year-on-year increase.

In a letter to shareholders Netflix picked put some of the programmes that have driven its growth, including Altered Carbon, Jessica Jones, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Queer Eye and Nailed It. The company also expressed its disappointment at not being able to compete at this year’s Cannes film festival, as a result of a new rule brought in by the festival that says that means if a film is in competition at Cannes, it can not be watched on Netflix in France for the following three years.

“We would never want to do that to our French members,” the letter says. “ We will continue to celebrate our films and filmmakers at other festivals around the world but unfortunately we will have to sit out Cannes for now so that our growing French membership can continue to enjoy our original films.”

Netflix said it expects revenues of $3.8bn in Q2, with 6.2m net subscriber additions.

While you digest the figures, check out the Infographic below, prepared by GlobalWebIndex, which looks Netflix versus Amazon Prime Video globally with insights on regional engagement; account usage by demographics; user profiles and viewing behaviours. It’s based on research among 13,687 monthly Netflix users aged 16-64 across 36 countries. Also in the cohort were 6,198 Amazon Prime Video monthly users.