What Display Daily thinks: Old is going to Hollywood and trying to figure out color gamuts, high definition video standards, and cinematic metrics for display. New is going to Netflix and seeing what can be done to make TVs more streaming friendly.
It’s kind of weird ask especially if you consider that Netflix is doing the same thing that display manufacturers are doing; it is going to Hollywood and it is making sure that it’s streaming services show their content in the best possible way.
But, the thing is that Netflix the app doesn’t get to pick and choose the output device. And there’s the opportunity. Not so much in picking the output device – Netflix is going to endorse one TV vendor over another – but what can you do to make Netflix content pop on your display?
Specifics can be anything from calibrating a display to some sort of Netflix signal of intent through to making sure that software support for the Netflix app is consistently up to date and at peak performance. Could there be integrations with AI algorithms that are specifically tuned to Netflix content?
Yes, there are probably a myriad number of ways that Netflix could get an extra pop out of every display. And I don’t just mean the premium displays. It has to be about making Netflix shine on any display, OLED, LCD, and on TVs or mobile devices.
Where Netflix goes, the rest of the streamers will follow, and Hollywood is going to be fine with a lot of what Netflix does if it continues to put billions of dollars into content.
The real clincher is that Netflix is a global brand that has plenty of room to expand in all markets, and as its localized content grows so does its clout. More so than Hollywood. The cultural touchstone of the entertainment industry is housed somewhere in the bowels of the R&D department at Netflix.
And I may be wrong – you’ll have to prove it – but it could be that Netflix is a more powerful dictator of consumer preferences for TVs than sporting sponsorships. Netflix was the watershed between old TV and new TV. It should be the watershed between old display beliefs and new display beliefs.
I tried asking a few close friends, my kids and their friends the same question: if someone told you that their TV was the best one for watching Netflix would that influence your purchasing decision, and almost everyone said probably or yes. After all, it is the one common streaming service that everyone seems to use or rely on because the subscriber numbers below represent a fraction of the users of each account. That means there are a lot more TVs and devices that are being used to watch Netflix content than can be discerned from the membership numbers. I shudder, with excitement, to think what the actual number of Netflix watchers are.
Netflix Sees Subscribers Growth and More Global Expansion
In its recent investor relations call, Netflix reported a quarterly revenue of $8.2 billion, marking a 6% year-over-year increase. The company added 5.9 million new subscribers, bringing the total to 238 million. Net income rose to $1.6 billion from $1.3 billion in the previous quarter.
Netflix invested $17 billion in content over the past year and highlighted significant subscriber growth in the APAC and EMEA regions. These regions have been pivotal in driving the company’s global expansion strategy, with local content production and targeted marketing initiatives playing key roles in attracting new subscribers.
| July, 2024 Update | Q2’23 | Q3’23 | Q4’23 | Q1’24 | Q2’24 | Q3’24 Forecast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue ($M) | 8,187 | 8,542 | 8,833 | 9,370 | 9,559 | 9,727 |
| Y/Y % Growth | 2.7 | 7.8 | 12.5 | 14.8 | 16.8 | 13.9 |
| Operating Income ($M) | 1,827 | 1,916 | 1,496 | 2,633 | 2,603 | 2,730 |
| Operating Margin (%) | 22.3 | 22.4 | 16.9 | 28.1 | 27.2 | 28.1 |
| Net Income ($M) | 1,488 | 1,677 | 938 | 2,332 | 2,147 | 2,237 |
| Global Streaming Paid Memberships (M) | 238.39 | 247.15 | 260.28 | 269.60 | 277.65 | – |
| YoY % Growth | 8.0 | 10.8 | 12.8 | 16.0 | 16.5 | – |
| Global Streaming Paid Net Additions (M) | 5.89 | 8.76 | 13.12 | 9.33 | 8.05 | – |
