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.
Netflix rejected the offer and a year later IPO’d 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.
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Read the report nowNetflix 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 replicable Netflix’s performance in awards.
Disney also launched its own streaming service in November 2019, and several American cable services have launched their own in 2020, such as HBO Max, Peacock and Showtime. The next five years will undoubtedly be harder for Netflix, as it tries to keep its fans loyal when so much more stuff is available.
We have collected data and statistics on Netflix. Read on below to find out more.
Netflix key statistics
- Netflix generated $24.9 billion revenue in 2020, a 23.8% increase year-on-year
- $11.45 billion of Netflix’s revenue was generated in North America, its largest market
- Netflix had an operating profit of $4.5 billion in 2020, a 73% increase year-on-year
- In 2021, Netflix had 209 million subscribers worldwide
Netflix overview
| 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 annual revenue
| Year | Revenue |
| 2011 | $3.1 billion |
| 2012 | $3.5 billion |
| 2013 | $4.3 billion |
| 2014 | $5.4 billion |
| 2015 | $6.7 billion |
| 2016 | $8.8 billion |
| 2017 | $11.6 billion |
| 2018 | $15.7 billion |
| 2019 | $20.1 billion |
| 2020 | $24.9 billion |
Netflix revenue by region
| Year | US & Canada | EMEA | Latin America | Asia-Pacific |
| 2018 | $8.28 billion | $3.95 billion | $2.22 billion | $0.94 billion |
| 2019 | $10.05 billion | $5.54 billion | $2.78 billion | $1.46 billion |
| 2020 | $11.45 billion | $7.77 billion | $3.13 billion | $2.37 billion |
Source: Company data
Netflix ARPU by region
| Year | US & Canada | EMEA | Latin America | Asia-Pacific |
| 2018 | $11.28 | $10.2 | $7.53 | $9.19 |
| 2019 | $13.22 | $10.51 | $8.18 | $9.07 |
| 2020 | $13.51 | $11.05 | $7.12 | $9.32 |
Note: Values cover Q4 of each respective year
Source: Company data
Netflix profit
| Year | Profit |
| 2012 | $50 million |
| 2013 | $228 million |
| 2014 | $403 million |
| 2015 | $306 million |
| 2016 | $379 million |
| 2017 | $839 million |
| 2018 | $1.6 billion |
| 2019 | $2.6 billion |
| 2020 | $4.5 billion |
Note: Values are operating income
Source: Company data
Netflix content spend
| Year | Content spend |
| 2016 | $6.88 billion |
| 2017 | $8.91 billion |
| 2018 | $12 billion |
| 2019 | $13.9 billion |
| 2020 | $11.8 billion |
| 2021 | $17 billion |
Sources: Netflix, Variety
Netflix subscribers
Netflix annual subscribers
| Year | Subscribers |
| 2011 | 21.5 million |
| 2012 | 25.7 million |
| 2013 | 35.6 million |
| 2014 | 47.9 million |
| 2015 | 62.7 million |
| 2016 | 79.9 million |
| 2017 | 99 million |
| 2018 | 124.3 million |
| 2019 | 151.5 million |
| 2020 | 192.9 million |
Note: Values cover Q2 of each respective year
Netflix subscribers by region
| Year | US & Canada | EMEA | Latin America | Asia-Pacific |
| 2018 | 64.7 million | 37.8 million | 26 million | 10.6 million |
| 2019 | 67.6 million | 51.7 million | 31.4 million | 16.2 million |
| 2020 | 73.9 million | 66.7 million | 37.5 million | 25.4 mllion |
Note: Values cover Q4 of each respective year
Source: Company data
Netflix share of US streaming minutes
| Streaming platform | Percentage of streaming |
| Netflix | 34 |
| YouTube | 20 |
| Hulu | 11 |
| Amazon Prime | 8 |
| Disney Plus | 4 |
| Other | 23 |
Source: Nielsen
Netflix US library size
| Streaming platform | Movies | TV Shows |
| Netflix | 3,600 | 1,800 |
| Amazon Prime | 26,300 | 2,700 |
| HBO Max | 2,000 | 580 |
| Hulu | 1,230 | 1,300 |
| Disney Plus | 740 | 280 |
| Peacock Premium | 910 | 345 |
Source: JustWatch
Most viewed Netflix Originals films
| Film | Views |
| 10. Fatherhood | 74 million |
| 9. Project Power | 75 million |
| 8. Army of the Dead | 75 million |
| 7. Enola Holmes | 76 million |
| 6. The Old Guard | 78 million |
| 5. Murder Mystery | 83 million |
| 4. 6 Underground | 83 million |
| 3. Spenser Confidential | 85 million |
| 2. Bird Box | 89 million |
| 1. Extraction | 99 million |
Note: Results are from the first 28 days of the films’ release (July 2021)
Source: Company data
Most viewed Netflix Originals TV series
| TV Series | Views |
| 10. Fate: The Winx Saga | 57 million |
| 9. Emily in Paris | 58 million |
| 8. Sweet Tooth | 60 million |
| 7. Queen’s Gambit | 62 million |
| 6. Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness | 64 million |
| 5. Stranger Things S3 | 64 million |
| 4. Money Heist S4 | 65 million |
| 3. Lupin S1 | 70 million |
| 2. The Witcher | 76 million |
| 1. Bridgerton | 82 million |
Note: Results are from the first 28 days of the films’ release (August 2021)
Source: Company data
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)
