Netflix US subscriber count drops by 800k in Q3, 21.45 million still streaming
After a tumultuous third quarter the numbers are finally in for Netflix, and as expected its price hike and Qwikster madness have cost it a few customers in the US. Currently the company is reporting a total of 23.79 million customers in the US, down from 24.59 million last quarter -- fewer than even it projected a few weeks ago. According to the report, it lost more "long term" customers than expected, which it attributes, again, to its poor explanation of the reasoning behind the change. To address those decisions and its inability to reach a new deal with Starz it has a few more numbers to show, as apparently only 7 percent of new customers are opting for the $15.98 hybrid package, while Starz Play content currently accounts for about six percent of streaming hours. Other competitors are also mentioned -- Amazon Prime Instant Video's content library is referred to as "duplicative" and just a "small fraction" of what Netflix offers, as it counts on newly-signed exclusive deals to widen the gap.
Those deals mean new movies like Drive, Paranormal Activity 3, The Rum Diaries and The Immortals will show up on Netflix in the usual pay-TV window, on top of a library of catalog TV shows that pulls from all five broadcast networks and 95 percent of cable TV stations. Internationally, Netflix is up to one million customers in Canada where it plans to double quarterly content spending, while Latin American customers can look forward to iOS and Xbox support soon. While its UK launch is on for Q1, it expressed concern for competition from Sky Movies, BBC and Lovefilm, and it plans to hold off on further expansion after that. We'll dig through the report more and tune in to their earnings call in a bit, hit the source link to check out the PDF for yourself.
