SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Netflix will work with Microsoft to launch a cheaper subscription plan that includes advertisements, the firms said Wednesday, as the streaming giant fights to attract customers. Netflix opted to develop the lower-cost offering after a disappointing first quarter in which it lost subscribers for the first time in a decade, and after years of resistance against the very idea of running ads. The ad-supported subscription will be in addition […]
Tag: Netflix
Netflix trims staff to weather slowing growth
San Francisco, UNITED STATES (AFP) — Netflix on Tuesday said it laid off about two percent of its staff in a belt-tightening move after growth slowed at the once-booming streaming television service. “These changes are primarily driven by business needs rather than individual performance, which makes them especially tough, as none of us want to say goodbye to such great colleagues,” a spokesperson told AFP. About 150 employees have been laid off, most of […]
End of an era as Netflix faces stagnation challenges
by Thomas URBAIN Agence France Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Having lost subscribers for the first time in more than a decade, Netflix faces the new challenge of stagnation from a position of strength. A drop of just 200,000 users — less than 0.1 percent of its total customer base — was enough to send Wall Street panicking, with shares plunging more than 30 percent on Wednesday. The loss of subscribers and […]
Netflix tests charging a fee to share accounts
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) – Netflix on Wednesday said it is testing charging a fee to subscribers who share their accounts with people who don’t live in their homes. The US-based steaming service has long taken a relaxed approach to users sharing passwords with family or friends, but recently saw stock dive on quarterly results that showed cooling subscriber growth. Competition in the streaming television market meanwhile has been ramping up, particularly from Disney+, […]
Netflix pulls episodes in Philippines over South China Sea map
MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — Netflix has removed two episodes of an Australian spy show from its streaming service in the Philippines after Manila objected to scenes showing a map with Beijing’s claims to the disputed South China Sea. China has long used its so-called nine-dash line to justify its claims over most of the resource-rich South China Sea, where the Philippines has rival claims. The Department of Foreign Affairs said Monday it had lodged […]
‘Squid Game’ becomes Netflix’s biggest-ever launch hit
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Dystopian South Korean drama “Squid Game” has become Netflix’s most popular series launch ever, drawing 111 million fans since its debut less than four weeks ago, the streaming service said Tuesday. The unprecedented global viral hit imagines a macabre world in which marginalized people are pitted against one another in traditional children’s games. While the victor can earn millions in cash, losing players are killed. Spreading around the world […]
Netflix keeps growing in pandemic, tops 200 million subscribers
by Glenn CHAPMAN Agence France Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Netflix on Tuesday topped subscriber growth expectations in the past quarter, keeping ahead of new streaming rivals competing for viewers stuck in their homes during the coronavirus pandemic. The streaming television leader added some 8.5 million paid subscribers in the quarter to reach 203 million, topping 200 million despite recent price hikes, its quarterly earning update showed. “Covid-19 has accelerated that big shift […]
Netflix reports slowing subscriber growth; shares slide
by Glenn CHAPMAN Agence France Presse Netflix shares slid on Tuesday after the US streaming television titan reported that subscriber growth slowed in the recently ended quarter, after booming in the early days of the pandemic. While Netflix added 28.1 million paying subscribers so far this year, only 2.2 million of them came in the third quarter, the company said in an earnings release letter. “We think this is primarily due to our record […]
Netflix sees record sign-ups during pandemic lockdowns
by Glenn CHAPMAN Agence France Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Netflix on Tuesday reported soaring profits as subscriptions surged by almost 16 million at the streaming television service during lockdowns to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. “After record subscriber additions, Netflix is and will continue to be the media company least impacted by COVID-19,” said eMarketer forecasting analyst Eric Haggstrom. “Their business is a near-perfect fit to a population that is […]
Netflix commits $100 million to help actors, crews thrown out of work
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Streaming television giant Netflix on Friday launched a $100 million fund to help actors and production crews endure the hit to paychecks caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The fund is meant to help offset hardship in the “creative community,” with most of the money going to financially troubled workers on Netflix productions around the world, according to Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos. “This community has supported Netflix through […]
Netflix ramps up global subscribers, but sees slower growth ahead
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Netflix said Tuesday it added millions of new subscribers globally over the past quarter as it ramped up for a tougher competitive landscape, but scaled back its outlook for early 2020. The global streaming television giant largely beat expectations with a profit of $587 million in the fourth quarter as revenue rose 31 percent from a year ago to $5.5 billion. Netflix added a better-than-expected 8.8 million subscribers worldwide […]
Golden Globes rev up award season with Netflix in pole position
by Javier TOVAR / Andrew MARSZAL LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Hollywood’s biggest stars gather Sunday for the glitzy Golden Globes, the first major awards show of a packed season that looks set to mark Netflix’s coming-of-age in Tinseltown. The celebrity-filled gala in Beverly Hills is billed as the most raucous event in the showbiz calendar, where success helps create buzz ahead of next month’s Oscars. Netflix garnered an overwhelming 34 Globe nominations across […]





