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Netflix’s obsessive content-hoarding ways help it slay the subscriber game

Thursday, April 23, 2020 by Snacks
_Netflix execs, hoarding for the content dry spell_

Netflix execs, hoarding for the content dry spell

So like, did Carole do it?... Asked the 34M people who streamed “Tiger King” in its first 10 days. We know Netflix has been benefitting from the lockdown economy — it’s practically the epitome of a “stay-at-home” stock. But its quarterly numbers shocked even the biggest optimists:

  • 15.8M: The number of new paying subscribers that Netflix added this quarter — over double the 7.2M expected.
  • 182M: Netflix's total paying subscribers worldwide — that fresh Flix user base is 22% larger now than it was a year ago. Oh, and it doesn’t include moochers or password sharers.

“I just finished Netflix”… Highly unlikely. Those new shows “magically” appearing on Netflix during quarantine?… That warm feeling that Netflix will continue releasing thrilling Spanish-language series even when the world ends? All part of the plan...

  • Netflix is like that paranoid neighbor hoarding 10K cans of corn in the basement — except Netflix hoards content, throwing anything it can get its hands on into the cart. No one is laughing at these hoarders now.
  • While film/TV production is paused, Netflix has a fat pile of already-produced content so it can premier fresh shows/movies for the next 2 years, according to the CEO. Netflix gets to keep launching new shows, while actually producing zero.
THE TAKEAWAY

The more you grow now, the slower you grow later... Just like the growth spurt you had as a kid, Netflix is having a major growth spurt in the lockdown economy — but it's not likely to last at this crazy pace. Netflix already takes up 72% of home streaming time. The new subs it's gaining now will likely take away from its future growth. Plus, people who aren't getting on the Netflix bandwagon during lockdown will probably never get on at all.

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