Netflix global subscriber growth disappoints; share price falls 15%

July 19, 2016 10:08

Global streaming giant Netflix has disappointed the market with its latest subscriber growth, adding just 1.7m new users compared with the 2.5m it had promised in the last quarter.

The news of slower than expected global growth saw the Netflix share price fall more than 15% in after-hours trading.

The market had expected Netflix to pick up an additional 500,000 subscribers in the US and 2m internationally; however, it gained just 160,000 new members in the US and 1.52 million members elsewhere, suggesting its home market penetration is stagnating.

Netflix partially attributed the challenges with growth to negative media coverage of an upcoming price rise in the streaming service, with CEO Reed Hastings noting that churn had recently increased.

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Nic Christensen

Nic Christensen worked for Mumbrella from 2013 to 2016, in roles including deputy editor and media & technology editor. He is former media writer for The Australian and has also worked as a reporter for The Daily Telegraph and senior producer for Radio 2GB.

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