The first round of the streaming wars may be over as Disney, Paramount, and Warner Bros. Discovery lose hundreds of millions on unprofitable streaming services and struggle to retain subscribers. Netflix, meanwhile, added over 13 million subscribers and pulled in a net income of $938 million in the fourth quarter of 2023.
In 2022, Netflix's annual net profits topped $4.4 billion — a huge sum, but still less than the company's record $5.11 billion earned in 2021. The decline had some analysts wondering if Netflix would suffer further losses, but strong subscriber growth suggests that the streaming service and content producer is turning things around.
Netflix now has over 260 million subscribers worldwide most of them outside the United States. In total, Netflix added around 30 million subscribers in 2023. So how did the company do it? Some controversial policies may have been the keys to success.
Netflix cracked down on password sharing by requiring non-primary account holders to plug in 4-digit codes sent to the account holder's email address or phone number. The company also tracked device IDs and IP addresses, and took other measures to make password sharing outside of households more difficult. Netflix also increased subscription fees and started running ads in some content and subscription plans. Some fretted that these moves would repel subscribers, but strong growth suggests otherwise.
Netflix has also been pumping out popular and critically acclaimed content, including The Night Agent, Ginny & Georgia, The Glory, and more. While Netflix got its start in the United States, The Glory is a South Korean production, demonstrating Netflix's ability to succeed and produce high-quality content in international markets. Now, Netflix is pushing further into live streaming content, including a $5 billion deal to stream live WWE wrestling events. Netflix is also looking to spend a record-breaking $17 billion on content in 2024.