{"id":422581,"date":"2026-01-21T01:32:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T01:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/422581\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T01:32:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T01:32:11","slug":"netflix-tops-325-million-subscribers-plans-to-boost-content-spending-10-to-20-billion-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/422581\/","title":{"rendered":"Netflix Tops 325 Million Subscribers, Plans to Boost Content Spending 10% to $20 Billion in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tNetflix<\/a> said it had more than 325 million subscribers worldwide as of the end of 2025 \u2014 up from 301.2 million a year prior \u2014 as it looks to get even bigger by buying Warner Bros.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe company beat financial expectations for the fourth quarter of 2025. Netflix reported quarterly revenue of $12.05 billion (up 17.6%) and net income of $2.41 billion (up 29.4%), translating to 56 cents per share. On average, Wall Street analysts expected Netflix to post Q4 revenue of $11.97 billion and earnings per share of 55 cents, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.<\/p>\n

\n\tNetflix has stopped reporting subscribers on a quarterly basis, but said it would release them when it hit certain milestones.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWith over 325M paid memberships, we\u2019re now serving an audience approaching one billion people globally,\u201d the company said in its Q4 shareholder letter. In the second half of 2025, Netflix users watched a collective 96 billion hours on the service, up 2% year over year (compared with a 1% increase in the first half of the year). That was driven by viewing of Netflix originals, which was up 9% year over year in the second half of 2025.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn 2026, the company expects content amortization growth of about 10% in 2026, indicating its content spending will hit about $20 billion for the year (compared with roughly $18 billion last year). The increased content spending will be higher in the first half of the year; as a result, \u201cwe expect higher operating income growth in the second half of 2026 than in the first half,\u201d according to Netflix.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn addition to higher spending on originals, in 2026 Netflix plans to expand its lineup of licensed titles. Starting this month, Netflix customers will be able to watch new release live-action films under its new U.S. licensing partnership with Universal Studios. The company said it also has licensed about 20 shows from Paramount Skydance, including \u201cMatlock\u201d and \u201cKing of Queens\u201d for international territories and \u201cSEAL Team,\u201d \u201cWatson\u201d and \u201cMayor of Kingstown\u201d for U.S. and international territories. In addition, Netflix called out its recently announced deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment<\/a> to expand their pay-1 licensing agreement to a global deal. Netflix launched video podcasts from partners including Spotify<\/a> and iHeartMedia<\/a> this month, and has more than 200 live events to date, co-CEO Ted Sarandos said on the Q4 earnings interview.<\/p>\n

\n\tNetflix also disclosed ad revenue for the first time: In 2025, the company\u2019s third year selling advertising, ad revenue came in at more than $1.5 billion, up more than 2.5-fold over 2024.<\/p>\n

\n\tFor 2026, Netflix forecast revenue of $50.7 billion-$51.7 billion, which would be an increase of 12%-14% year over year (or 11%-13% F\/X neutral growth). That includes a projected doubling of ad revenue in 2026.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe earnings report came the same day Netflix announced that it was sweetening its $83 billion deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery\u2019s studios and HBO Max streaming business by switching to an all-cash offer<\/a>, replacing its previous cash-and-stock agreement. The change was driven by pressure from Paramount Skydance, which has been pursuing a hostile takeover attempt of Warner Bros. Discovery with what it alleges is a superior deal for WBD shareholders<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tNetflix execs have spun the Warner Bros. deal as a win for the industry \u2014 despite opposition from theater owners and others \u2014 as well as upsizing the streamer\u2019s content-production engines. To try to allay fears in Hollywood that Netflix will abandon theatrical distribution, co-CEO Ted Sarandos last week said Netflix will maintain a 45-day theatrical window for WB movies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cTogether, Netflix and Warner Bros. will deliver broader choice and greater value to audiences worldwide, enhancing access to world-class television and film both at home and in theaters,\u201d Sarandos said in a statement earlier Tuesday. \u201cThe acquisition will also significantly expand U.S. production capacity and investment in original programming, driving job creation and long-term industry growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the fourth quarter, Netflix scored big traffic with \u201cStranger Things 5,\u201d<\/a> the final season of the Duffer brothers\u2019 supernatural \u201980s-set drama series, and also garnered sizable live viewership for its Christmas Day NFL doubleheader<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tRegarding competition, Netflix told shareholders that \u201cTV consumption patterns are constantly evolving, and competitive lines are increasingly blurring.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tPart of Netflix\u2019s message on competition is aimed at downplaying the increased market power it will have if it closes the deal with WBD to buy the Warner Bros. studios and HBO Max. Netflix positions its competitive set in the context of total TV viewing \u2014 not just streaming. According to Nielsen, in December 2025, Netflix\u2019s share of U.S. TV viewing time reached an all-time high of 9.0% (+0.5 points year over year) \u2014 however, the company noted, linear TV still represents more than 40% of overall watch time.<\/p>\n

\n\tNetflix pointed out that several services have put content \u201con both their linear channels and streaming services at the same time,\u201d citing the 2026 Golden Globes\u2019 availability simultaneously on CBS and Paramount+ and last year\u2019s Super Bowl simulcast on Fox and Tubi. In addition, the company said, \u201cYouTube has been leaning into TV over the last several years by adding live professional sports and, starting in 2029, will be the global home to the Oscars\u201d while \u201cInstagram is bringing Reels to TVs with a new app.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Netflix said it had more than 325 million subscribers worldwide as of the end of 2025 \u2014 up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":422582,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[45,49,48,35381,1316],"class_list":["post-422581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-media-earnings","tag-netflix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=422581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/422582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=422581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=422581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=422581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}