Netflix was conceived in 1997 by Reed Hastings (the current CEO) and Marc Randolph. Both had previous ventures in the West Coast tech scene, Hastings was the owner of debugging software firm Pure Atria, while Randolph had co-founded and then sold MicroWarehouse for $700 million.
Originally a DVD-rental service, in the same vein as Blockbuster, Netflix broke ground with its mail order service. It introduced a subscription model at the turn of the millennium, which allowed subscribers to rent as many DVDs as they wanted, without incurring any additional costs which were the bane of many Blockbuster-fans lives.
Even before the streaming service, Netflix was focused on recommendation algorithms and unique experiences through its website. Even with these advances in technology, Netflix was hit hard in the dot-com bubble and was offered $50 million by Blockbuster in 2001.
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Netflix rejected the offer and a year later went public on the Nasdaq. It wouldn’t be until 2007 that it rolled out its video streaming service, which separated Netflix from Blockbuster and many of the other DVD-rental services which went out of business in the 2010s.
It took a few years for the streaming service to make inroads, but once it did Netflix pivoted to a platform only approach, canning the DVD-rental service and launching Netflix worldwide. Today, only citizens in North Korea, Syria, China and Crimea are denied the binge-watching pleasures of the streaming service.
In 2012, Netflix also upped the ante with its own programming, which started with Lilyhammer but was boosted heavily by House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, two of the company’s most watched TV shows. Netflix started to pick up awards for its TV shows, surpassing HBO in 2018 for the amount of Emmy nominations.
Netflix has also distributed several noteworthy films, including Beasts of No Nation, Marriage Story, Roma and Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman. Netflix earned more nominations at the 2020 Oscars than any other film studio.
But in terms of awards, the first Emmy Netflix ever won, in 2012, is perhaps the most illustrative: an Emmy Engineering Award, given to individuals or organisations that have profoundly changed the way we watch television. Netflix, it is fair to say, has profoundly done this.
As Netflix has grown in revenue and subscribers, it has enticed others to copy its formula. Amazon launched its Prime Video subscription service at around the same time and has been a heavy spender, as it looks to compete with Netflix for online eyeballs.
Disney also launched its own streaming service in November 2019, and several American cable services launched their own in 2020, such as HBO Max, Peaco*ck and Paramount. This has put a strain on Netflix’s growth, with 2022 seeing the first declines in subscribers in the North American market.
To combat this, Netflix launched a cheaper ad-supported tier, to entice users who would not pay for Netflix otherwise. It also considers the ad-supported tier as a way to carve out a new source of revenue, with subscription growth drying up.
This has performed well for Netflix, which has reported increases in revenue and user growth after the 2022 slump. It is now seen as in the driver’s seat in the streaming wars, as other operators struggle to generate profit from their streaming service.
We have collected data and statistics on Netflix. Read on below to find out more.
Netflix Key Statistics
- Netflix generated $33.7 billion revenue in 2023, a 6.6% increase year-on-year
- $14 billion of Netflix’s revenue was generated in North America, its largest market
- Netflix had an net income of $5.4 billion in 2023, an 20.4% increase on the previous year
- In 2023, Netflix had 238.3 million subscribers worldwide
Netflix Overview
| Title 1 | Title 2 |
|---|---|
| Launch date | 29 August 1997, 15 January 2007 (streaming service launch) |
| HQ | Los Gatos, California |
| People | Reed Hastings (co-CEO, founder), Ted Sarandos (co-CEO, chief content officer), Greg Peters (COO, CPO) |
| Business type | Public (NASDAQ: NFLX) |
| Industry | Video streaming |
Netflix Revenue
Netflix generated $33.7 billion revenue in 2023, with four straight quarters of growth. It reported its first quarterly decline in Q4 2022.
Netflix quarterly revenue 2011 to 2023 ($mm)
Netflix annual revenue 2011 to 2023 ($bn)
| Year | Revenue ($bn) |
|---|---|
| 2011 | 3.1 |
| 2012 | 3.5 |
| 2013 | 4.3 |
| 2014 | 5.4 |
| 2015 | 6.7 |
| 2016 | 8.8 |
| 2017 | 11.6 |
| 2018 | 15.7 |
| 2019 | 20.1 |
| 2020 | 24.9 |
| 2021 | 29.6 |
| 2022 | 31.6 |
| 2023 | 33.7 |
Source: Company data
Netflix Revenue by Region
Netflix earned 44% of its revenue from the US & Canada market, its largest region for revenue and usage.
Netflix annual revenue by region 2018 to 2023 ($bn)
| Year | US & Canada | EMEA | Latin America | Asia-Pacific |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 8.28 | 3.95 | 2.22 | 0.94 |
| 2019 | 10.05 | 5.54 | 2.78 | 1.46 |
| 2020 | 11.45 | 7.77 | 3.13 | 2.37 |
| 2021 | 12.97 | 9.69 | 3.57 | 3.26 |
| 2022 | 14.08 | 9.74 | 4.06 | 3.57 |
| 2023 | 14.87 | 10.55 | 4.44 | 3.76 |
Source: Company data
Netflix ARPU by Region
Netflix earns more revenue per user in the US & Canada market, at $16 per user, while it earns the least per user in Asia-Pacific.
Netflix annual ARPU by region 2018 to 2023 ($bn)
| Year | US & Canada | EMEA | Latin America | Asia-Pacific |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 11.28 | 10.20 | 7.53 | 9.19 |
| 2019 | 13.22 | 10.51 | 8.18 | 9.07 |
| 2020 | 13.51 | 11.05 | 7.12 | 9.32 |
| 2021 | 14.78 | 11.64 | 8.14 | 9.26 |
| 2022 | 15.86 | 10.99 | 8.48 | 8.50 |
| 2023 | 16.00 | 10.87 | 8.58 | 7.66 |
Source: Company data
Netflix Profit
Netflix made $5.4 billion net profit in 2023, an increase on the year prior.
Netflix annual net income/loss 2011 to 2023 ($mm)
| Date | Net Income/Loss ($mm) |
|---|---|
| 2011 | 225 |
| 2012 | 17 |
| 2013 | 112 |
| 2014 | 266 |
| 2015 | 122 |
| 2016 | 188 |
| 2017 | 560 |
| 2018 | 1211 |
| 2019 | 1867 |
| 2020 | 2761 |
| 2021 | 5116 |
| 2022 | 4491 |
| 2023 | 5408 |
Note: Values are net income. Source: Company data
Netflix Content Spend
Netflix content spend declined for a second year in a row, primarily due to the Hollywood writers strike.
Netflix annual content spend 2016 to 2023 ($bn)
| Year | Content spend ($bn) |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 6.88 |
| 2017 | 8.91 |
| 2018 | 12 |
| 2019 | 13.9 |
| 2020 | 11.8 |
| 2021 | 17.7 |
| 2022 | 16.8 |
| 2023 | 12 |
Sources: Netflix, Variety
Netflix Subscribers
Netflix has managed to reenergise its subscription growth through the launch of its ad-tier.
Netflix quarterly subscribers 2011 to 2023 (mm)
Netflix annual subscribers 2011 to 2023 (mm)
| Date | Subscribers (mm) |
|---|---|
| 2011 | 21.5 |
| 2012 | 25.71 |
| 2013 | 35.63 |
| 2014 | 47.99 |
| 2015 | 62.71 |
| 2016 | 79.9 |
| 2017 | 99.04 |
| 2018 | 124.35 |
| 2019 | 151.56 |
| 2020 | 192.95 |
| 2021 | 209 |
| 2022 | 220.6 |
| 2023 | 238.3 |
Note: Values cover Q2 of each respective year. Source: Company data
Netflix Subscribers by Region
The Europe, Middle East & Africa market is the largest for total subscribers, at 79.8 million.
Netflix annual subscribers by region 2018 to 2023 (mm)
| Year | US & Canada | EMEA | Latin America | Asia-Pacific |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 64.7 | 37.8 | 26 | 10.6 |
| 2019 | 67.6 | 51.7 | 31.4 | 16.2 |
| 2020 | 73.9 | 66.7 | 37.5 | 25.4 |
| 2021 | 75.2 | 74 | 39.9 | 32.6 |
| 2022 | 74.2 | 76.7 | 41.6 | 38 |
| 2023 | 75.5 | 79.8 | 42.4 | 40.5 |
Note: Values cover Q2 of each respective year. Source: Company data
Netflix Share of US Streaming Minutes
Netflix remains the most popular streaming service in the US for total minutes watched, surpassing YouTube and Hulu.
US audience streaming minutes 2022 (%)
| App | Percentage of minutes spent |
|---|---|
| Netflix | 22.4 |
| YouTube | 20.4 |
| Hulu | 11.2 |
| Prime Video | 7.8 |
| Disney+ | 6.1 |
| Other streaming | 33.3 |
Source: Nielsen
Netflix US Library Size
In terms of total library size, Netflix is far behind Amazon Prime Video, but ahead of all other streaming platforms in the US.
US streaming services library size 2024
| App | Movies | TV Shows |
|---|---|---|
| Netflix | 3,600 | 1,800 |
| Prime Video | 26,300 | 2,700 |
| HBO Max | 2,000 | 1,300 |
| Hulu | 1,200 | 1,300 |
| Disney+ | 1,300 | 500 |
| Peaco*ck | 860 | 200 |
| Paramount+ | 500 | 400 |
| Apple TV+ | 30 | 50 |
Source: JustWatch
Netflix vs Disney Plus: Subscribers
Netflix FAQ
What is the most streamed TV show on Netflix?
The Office is the most streamed piece of content on Netflix, with a total of 57.1 billion minutes (Nielsen)
What is the median age of a Netflix user?
The median age is between 35-44 years old
How many Netflix users use the platform without paying?
An estimated 31% of users do not pay for the platform (Survata)
How many unique recommendations does Netflix have?
Netflix has 1,300 “recommendation clusters”, which are built through user’s viewing preferences
How many hours of Netflix were streaming during coronavirus lockdown?
In the US, an estimated 204 million hours were collectively streamed during the first major coronavirus lockdown in 2020 (Kill the Cable Bill)
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