Netflix says it has added 2.4 million subscribers

The streaming giant Netflix said Tuesday that it picked up 2.4 million subscribers this summer, making up for losses during the first half of the year.  

In its third-quarter financial results, Netflix said it came back from a loss of around a million subscribers in the first half of 2022 with a surge from July-September for a new total of 223 million subscribers.  

“After a challenging first half, we believe we’re on a path to reaccelerate growth,” the company reported in a letter to shareholders Tuesday, noting that the key to growth moving forward is “pleasing members” with Netflix series and movies so that they spread word of the service to their friends and stay subscribed. 

The company has long boasted ad-free content behind its subscription paywall, but is set to launch a lower-priced, ad-supported plan in a handful of countries this November, in addition to its ad-free plan. 

Netflix said its chief streaming competitors — Amazon, Disney+ and Hulu — are “investing heavily to drive subscribers and engagement” but posited that “they are all losing money” as they attempt to build out.  

The company reported $7.9 billion in revenue for the third quarter, a year-over-year revenue growth of 5.9 percent, as well as a paid membership growth of 4.5 percent since last year’s third quarter.

A slight revenue dip is projected between the third and fourth quarters, though the anticipated fourth-quarter figure, at around $7.7 billion, still touts 0.9 percent revenue growth from last year.

The company further noted that, as it shifts into the advertising space and makes other model changes, it is “increasingly focused on revenue as [its] primary top line metric” rather than counting subscribers as the most important figure.