Netflix added over 13 million new subscribers in Q4 2023, of which 5.05 million were from EMEA region

Netflix announced in its Q4 2023 report that it has added 13.12 million new subscribers, reaching a total of 260 million subscribers globally. A significant contribution of 5.05 million subscribers came from the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region.

Furthermore, Netflix saw a revenue increase of 12% in Q4 2023, which is 6% higher than in 2022 and 2% more than anticipated. However, it is worth noting that the company had added 7.66 million subscribers in Q4 2022. This growth follows Netflix’s decision to intensify its measures against password sharing last year, introducing a paid option for account sharing.

2023 proved to be a significant year for Netflix, with the platform witnessing a year-on-year growth of 12.5% by year-end, and each quarter seeing an increase in revenue. Notably, the 13.12 million paid net additions in Q4 marked its “largest Q4 ever.”

The success of its paid sharing feature, recent price adjustments, and the overall strength of the platform, propelled by a robust content slate, were underscored in Netflix’s Q4 growth.

Netflix revealed that paid sharing is now a standard part of its business strategy. This expands the platform’s base for growth and allows for more efficient penetration into the near-term addressable market of approximately 500 million connected TV households, excluding China and Russia. Netflix anticipates this market will expand as broadband penetration increases.

Despite the surge in subscribers, Netflix suggests that customers may occasionally need to pay extra for further platform improvements.

Following a growth in ad membership in Q4 2023, Netflix announced its intention to phase out its Basic Plan, first introduced in November 2022, in some of its ad markets, beginning with Canada and the UK in Q2 2024.

In further developments, Netflix disclosed that it will premiere World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Raw on the platform in January 2025, starting in the US, Canada, the UK, and Latin America and expanding from there. Other WWE offerings, including SmackDown, NXT, Wrestlemania, SummerSlam, and Royal Rumble, are also on the cards.

As the WWE draws considerable viewership, this collaboration may significantly boost Netflix’s ad reach and subscriber growth.

Netflix released a 6-month comprehensive report in December 2023. This report, “What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement,” detailed subscribers’ viewing habits from January to June 2023. It revealed that Netflix subscribers spent around 100 billion hours viewing more than 18,000 titles.

However, Netflix faced competition in Africa. In 2023, MultiChoice-owned streaming service Showmax surpassed Netflix in African market share, controlling 40% compared to Netflix’s 35%.

As of January 15, 2024, Showmax announced new pricing and a February 12th date for the new Showmax, along with mobile-only subscriptions for Premier League content through Showmax 2.0.

Meanwhile, Amazon Prime Video, Africa’s third-largest streaming platform, is reducing jobs and local content production in sub-Saharan and North Africa to concentrate on the European markets. While Amazon will stop accepting local content, it will continue to display approved content on its platform.