Netflix is all about the money, not the members

Netflix is moving beyond subscriber numbers. In its first 4th earnings results released connected Thursday, Netflix announced that it will extremity reporting quarterly rank numbers successful 2025 because subscribers are “just 1 component” of its growth. The alteration comes aft a 4th wherever it added 9.3 cardinal subscribers, increasing to much than 270 cardinal members globally.

Subscriber count meant everything successful nan early days of streaming. It allows investors, studios, and everyone other to gauge conscionable really good a streaming work is doing compared to nan competition, and Netflix has leaned connected its lead successful that area.

But now, Netflix says it is flipping this thought connected its caput because it has aggregate sources of gross that don’t hinge solely connected monthly memberships.

Its missive to shareholders highlights “new” gross streams, including advertizing done its ad-supported plan and paid sharing. “As we’ve evolved our pricing and plans from a azygous to aggregate tiers pinch different value points depending connected nan country, each incremental paid rank has a very different business impact,” Netflix writes successful its missive to shareholders. The streamer besides won’t study mean gross per personnel connected a quarterly basis.

Instead, Netflix says it will supply a breakdown of gross by region each quarter, and it will uncover “major subscriber milestones” erstwhile it hits them. “Ultimately, we deliberation this is simply a amended attack that reflects nan improvement of nan business,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said during an net interview. “Why we attraction connected engagement is because we judge it’s nan azygous champion parameter of personnel restitution pinch our offering, and it is simply a starring parameter for retention and acquisition complete time.”

In different words, streaming is conscionable getting much for illustration cable. Instead of placing worth successful nan group who motion up for its service, Netflix is betting that they’ll enactment subscribed and possibly moreover salary to adhd an other member.

(Disclosure: Vox Media Studios produced Full Swing, and The Verge recently produced a bid pinch Netflix.)

Update April 18th, 4:55PM ET: Added a quote from Ted Sarandos.