Surge in subscribers boosts Netflix revenue to new high

Los Angeles, July 18 (IANS) California-based internet entertainment company Netflix has said that its number of subscribers increased by 5.2 million in the second quarter of 2017, beyond expectations and generating more benefits.

Netflix added 5.2 million new subscribers this quarter, a number well above the 3.2 million of the Wall Street's forecast, of which 1.1 million came from the US and 4.1 million from overseas, Xinhua news agency cited the organisation as saying.

All these customers boosted Netflix's revenue to a new high. Netflix made $2.785 billion in revenue in the second quarter of 2017, it said.

And it had a tidy profit, reporting $66 million in net income, up about 50 per cent from the same period last year.

These numbers helped Neflix's stock promptly jump by over 10 per cent on Monday.

However, in its letter to investors, Netflix additionally highlighted the broad range of content it is now serving up.

"We premiered 14 new seasons of global Netflix original series, 13 original comedy specials, six original documentaries, two original documentary series, nine original feature films and seven seasons of original series for kids," the company said.

Netflix's series won 91 nominations in 2017 Emmy Award, including "Master of None", "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" and "Stranger Things".

When it was founded in 1997, Netflix was only considered as a streaming service for movies and television shows, but in 2013 the company started producing its own original dramas.

Netflix also emphasised that it is taking aim at the film business.

"We believe internet TV can similarly reinvigorate the film business. This year we will release 40 features that range from big budget popcorn films to grassroots independent cinemas," Netflix said.