Netflix Grows To More Than 200 Million Subscribers

By Dana Cruz First Posted: Jan 20, 2021 05:24 AM EST

(Photo : Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) A sign is posted in front of the Netflix headquarters on January 22, 2014 in Los Gatos, California.

Netflix now has more than 200 million subscribers from all over the world, cementing it as the world's largest streaming service.

The 200 million subscribers milestone comes after Netflix flourished in the first half of 2020 as more people moved indoors because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Amazingly, it managed to gather more than 200 million subscribers despite the high prices in the U.S. and Canada.

In 2020, some 37 million paid memberships were gathered by Netflix, with the final quarter getting about 8.5 million paid subscribers.

Compared to Disney Plus, the breakout streaming service, which was also getting attention among users, managed to ramp up more than 86 million subscribers with only over a year in operation, noted CNET.

Meanwhile, it's U.S.-only streaming service Hulu, which has been operating for as long as Netflix, only has 38.8 million subscribers.

Netflix Acknowledges Lower Expected Gains for 2021

Last year, Netflix achieved "$25 billion in annual revenue," as per their earnings report. The influx of users also pushed their profits up by 48 percent for the full year, and their stocks went up 10 percent in after-hours trading on Tuesday, reported Market Watch.

After the early-2020 surge in users and subscribers, Netflix shares simmer down in the second half of the year, going down more than five percent over the past three months.

Netflix acknowledged that their quarterly numbers on net subscriber gains are likely to go down in 2021, starting with the first quarter.

The company said it expects "paid net adds of 6 million" for the first quarter of 2021, compared to last year's 15.8 million, reported The Verge.

Most importantly, executives for Netflix have started telling its shareholders that it no longer has "a need to raise external financing for our day-to-day operations." Simply put, it does not need to borrow substantial amounts of cash anymore.

Netflix Praised for Efforts in Creating Original Content

In the last quarter of 2020, Netflix released fan favorites "The Queen's Gambit" and "Emily in Paris," and there was a noticeable uptick in its growth at the time.

These data further show that Netflix can achieve more if they continuously produce must-watch and quality content while maintaining their long-standing popular shows like "The Crown."

Talking to Yahoo! Finance, Constellation Research Principal Analyst and Founder R "Ray" Wang talked about Netflix's "good job" in producing content, especially in the competitive market it is in.

"They have actually shown, over the last 14 years, that this works," Wang said. "They've been able to not only attract people to come, they've been able to retain them."

This was when Wang noted that the content produced by the streaming serving saying, "when you bring technology and the network together, that's what you're able to get in this digital giant. So they've done a good job."

Wang also took notice of the great job Netflix has done in "reinvesting its sub dollars and putting it back into original content."

As 2021 rolls in, Netflix wants to let subscribers know that there is more to look forward to in their service. After a month of announcing price increases in the U.S., the company declared that it would be releasing at least one movie per week-maybe even one every five days.

"Our strategy is simple: if we can continue to improve Netflix every day to better delight our members, we can be their first choice for streaming entertainment," Netflix told its shareholders in a letter.

Netflix has a line of movies waiting this year, including the return of "The Witcher," "Umbrella Academy," and others. The only question now is whether it can maintain a good number now that competitors are coming out left and right.