Netflix CEO Reed Hastings
Streaming movie service Netflix – which is accountable for around a third of US broadband traffic – has reported Q1 revenues of US$870m. The service says it has increased the number of its subscribers by 3m, bringing its total user base to 26m worldwide.
Netflix launched its subscription-based movie streaming business in Ireland and the UK in January. At the time of launch, the company reported users watched more than 2bn hours of TV shows and movies in the fourth quarter.
In North America, Netflix is the biggest source of web traffic, accounting for around 35pc of total traffic.
The company’s DVD delivery service continues to decline, with numbers down 1.08m in the US.
Netflix reported a net loss of US$0.27 per share, or around US$5m during the first quarter.
In a letter to shareholders Netflix said:
“Netflix added nearly 3m streaming members in Q1, bringing our total to more than 26m global streaming members, and strengthening our position as the world’s leading internet TV network. We anticipate returning to global profitability in Q2, and plan to launch our next international market in Q4.
“We are constantly improving our service with better personalisation, better user interfaces, better streaming, and more content. As a result, per-member viewing hours set new records in Q1 and are on track to do so again in Q2, on a year-over-year basis. We launched our service in the UK and Ireland in January and are very pleased that, after the first 90 days, we had substantially more members than we had after the first 90 days of Canada or Latin America,” Netflix told shareholders.
