Netflix Users Streamed 42.5 Billion Hours Of Video In 2015

Shortly after it released a wave of content-related announcements, Netflix provided a business update for its investors. The streaming video platform shared its earnings report for the fourth quarter of 2015, and its results were encouraging. It exceeded Wall Street expectations by adding 5.59 million subscribers during the final three months of 2015. It also announced that its users streamed 42.5 billion hours of video in 2015, an increase of 46% over the previous year.

By adding 5.59 new subscribers, Netflix beat projections by nearly 500,000 new accounts. It also bounced back from a lackluster third quarter, when it fell short of its subscriber targets. In total, Netflix now has more than 75 million registered accounts; it passed that milestone shortly after the beginning of the first quarter of 2016.

Netflix’s Q4 2015 earnings report revealed that the

streaming platform was able to exceed Wall Street subscriber targets thanks to a big international push. While its domestic efforts continue to be more profitable, it is gaining new users at a much faster rate within international territories, where it is becoming more common. Just two weeks ago, it revealed its expansion into 130 new territories, making it available in almost all of the world’s countries. That growth, however, comes at a significant price; in reporting Netflix’s recent earnings, The Hollywood Reporter noted that the streaming platform spent $109 million on international expansion during Q4 2015.

Netflix will look to continue its upward trend during the first quarter of 2016. In the first three months of the year, it projects 6.1 million new subscribers across all territories.