Netflix’s price hike didn’t hurt subscriber growth

Netflix’s delayed-price-hike strategy has apparently paid off, as its earnings report for the third quarter (PDF) showed it added more customers than expected. By the end of the quarter, Netflix says about 75 percent of its older customers have been un-grandfathered to the new price. Despite that bump, it outdid its forecast of adding 2.3 million customers worldwide by adding 3.57 million (370,000 or so in the US), and it expects to add more than 5 million new accounts to that list over the next three months. As a result, Netflix’s shares are up nearly $20 in after-hours trading.

Netflix surges in after hours trading after subscriber growth beats estimates… #WDYM https://t.co/ZaTfwydAEl pic.twitter.com/yoQPE0Ev3I

— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) October 17, 2016

The streaming company also is apparently recalibrating its hopes for China, as its letter indicates short term plans to license its exclusive content to other services in the country instead of continuing to pursue a way to launch Netflix there. In friendlier countries, expect to see more deals like the new one with Comcast to put Netflix on cable boxes, as it celebrates “a new golden age of content, with consumers everywhere enjoying unprecedented access to amazing amounts of high-quality programming.”

Developing…

Source: Netflix Q3 2016 Earnings (PDF)