Netflix's global subscriber base has reached an impressive milestone, surpassing 300 million paid subscribers worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2024. This marks a significant increase of nearly 20 million subscribers compared to the previous quarter, solidifying Netflix's position as a dominant force in the streaming industry. Adapting to customer losses Netflix's growth has not always been consistent. During the first half of 2022, the streaming giant lost over one million customers. In response to these losses, Netflix introduced an ad-supported tier in November of that same year. This strategic move has paid off, with the lower-cost plan attracting 70 million monthly active users globally by November 2024, demonstrating Netflix's ability to adapt to changing market conditions and consumer preferences. Global expansion Netflix continues to focus on international markets, with a forecast suggesting that the Asia Pacific region is expected to see the most substantial growth in the upcoming years, potentially reaching around 70.1 million subscribers by 2029. To correspond to the needs of the non-American target group, the company has heavily invested in international content in recent years, with Korean, Spanish, and Japanese being the most watched non-English content languages on the platform.

Netflix reported 89.6 million paid streaming subscribers across the United States and Canada in the fourth quarter of 2024. This marked a growth of over nine million compared with the same quarter of the previous year. Why is Netflix losing subscribers? The EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa) region is Netflix's top-performing market in terms of subscribers, surpassing North America in the third quarter of 2022 for the first time. The company reported losing an estimated one million users worldwide in the second quarter of 2022, with the number of Netflix users standing at approximately 221 million that quarter. But why have audiences canceled their subscriptions? One reason for the unprecedented drop in account holders is Netflix's monthly fee, which has been increasing rapidly over the past few years. On top of that, viewers have also voiced criticism over Netflix's cancellation of popular shows and its lack of big movie franchises. What are audiences watching? Netflix's vast content library offers anything from reality TV to Hollywood blockbusters, with shows and movies delivered in many languages. As of mid-2024, European countries such as Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Slovenia boasted the largest content catalogs on Netflix. In the U.S., where audiences could choose from approximately 6,900 titles, “NCIS” and “Suits” ranked among the most popular streaming series on Netflix in 2023. As of that year, fan favorites “Stranger Things” and “3 Body Problem” were the most expensive Netflix original series, with production costs of 30 and 20 million U.S. dollars per episode, respectively.

Industry data revealed that Slovakia had the most extensive Netflix media library worldwide as of July 2024, with over 8,500 titles available on the platform. Interestingly, the top 10 ranking was spearheaded by European countries. Where do you get the most bang for your Netflix buck? In February 2024, Liechtenstein and Switzerland were the countries with the most expensive Netflix subscription rates. Viewers had to pay around 21.19 U.S. dollars per month for a standard subscription. Subscribers in these countries could choose from between around 6,500 and 6,900 titles. On the other end of the spectrum, Pakistan, Egypt, and Nigeria are some of the countries with the cheapest Netflix subscription costs at around 2.90 to 4.65 U.S. dollars per month. Popular content on Netflix While viewing preferences can differ across countries and regions, some titles have proven particularly popular with international audiences. As of mid-2024, "Red Notice" and "Don't Look Up" were the most popular English-language movies on Netflix, with over 230 million views in its first 91 days available on the platform. Meanwhile, "Troll" ranks first among the top non-English language Netflix movies of all time. The monster film has amassed 103 million views on Netflix, making it the most successful Norwegian-language film on the platform to date.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, Netflix generated total revenue of over 10.2 billion U.S. dollars, up from about 8.8 billion dollars in the corresponding quarter of 2023. The company's annual revenue in 2024 amounted to around 39 billion U.S. dollars, continuing the impressive year-on-year growth Netflix has enjoyed over the last decade. Netflix’s global position Netflix’s revenue has been heavily impacted by its ever-growing global subscriber base. The leading Netflix market is Europe, Middle East, and Africa, surpassing the U.S. and Canada in terms of subscriber count. Netflix has also significantly increased its licensed and produced content assets since 2016. Despite concerns among investors that the company’s content spend was negatively affecting cash flow, Netflix’s plans to amortize its content assets long-term along with generating revenue from other sources such as licensing and merchandise should ensure the company’s future profitability. Netflix’s original content Netflix is also fortunate in that many of its original shows have been a hit with consumers across the globe. Shows such as “Orange is the New Black,” “Black Mirror,” and “House of Cards” won the hearts of subscribers long ago, but newer content such as English-language shows “Bridgerton,” “Wednesday,” and “Stranger Things,” as well as local TV shows such as “Squid Game” have also been favorably reviewed and proved popular among users.