Netflix tops 300M subscribers as hits like “Squid Game 2” and live sports drive sign

Cashed in: Netflix is hiking prices for both its standard ad-free tier and its cheaper ad plan, which has fueled subscriptions and profit growth since its 2022 launch. 

• Cued up: Netflix hiked its sales forecast for the year as it preps for the return of hits including “Wednesday” and the final season of “Stranger Things.”
• TSA thrillers and masked killers… Netflix shares soared 14% yesterday after the streaming leader unloaded its biggest quarterly subscriber growth ever, saying it added nearly 19M new customers in Q4 — more than double what analysts expected. It topped 300M global subs for the first time as fans tuned in for “Squid Game 2,” “Carry-On,” and live sports like WWE. Quarterly revenue grew 16% and profit almost doubled from a year earlier to .8B. 

DirecTV recently rolled out a /month live-sports streaming service with games from ESPN, Fox Sports, and NBC, as it tries to fend off sports-hungry streamers.

• Disney just acquired sports streamer FuboTV, days after scrapping plans for a joint sports-streaming service with Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox.
• Coming for cable’s cake… Streamers have invested big in live sports, and Netflix’s recent #s show it’s paying off. Netflix’s Paul-Tyson fight was the most-streamed sporting event ever, and its two Christmas Day NFL games were the most streamed for the league. Streamers are building up their content rosters as more Americans watch games online.

It pays to be in the end zone… Live events give streaming platforms a chance to lock in large audiences and sell prime-time-style ads. For now, streamers are focusing on high-profile games that draw in big crowds. Last month Netflix nabbed exclusive US broadcasting rights to the next two FIFA Women’s World Cup tourneys.