Was the death of Netflix greatly exaggerated?
The streamer said Tuesday it added 2.4 million subscribers in the third quarter of 2022 after two consecutive quarters of losses. This was above the gain of one million subscribers that Netflix had forecast.
The first quarter of 2022 saw Netflix lose subscribers for the first time in over a decade, leading its stock to take a hit amid questions about whether the streamer's business model was sustainable. After the loss of 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter, Netflix lost another 970,000 subscribers in the second quarter, though this was actually considered good news, as the streamer had forecast a loss of two million subscribers.
But Netflix turned things around in the third quarter, which saw the release of the second volume of Stranger Things' fourth season. The streamer also had a huge hit during the third quarter with the true-crime series Dahmer, which Netflix says became its second biggest English language TV show of all time behind Stranger Things.
"After a challenging first half, we believe we're on a path to reaccelerate growth," Netflix said Tuesday.
Netflix also forecast it will add 4.5 million subscribers in the fourth quarter of the year, which will see the release of the fifth season of The Crown.
In the fourth quarter, Netflix will also be rolling out a new ad-supported subscription tier, which will cost $6.99 per month. Beyond that, Netflix has announced plans to crack down on password sharing, which is expected to begin in early 2023.