NETFLIX'S BIG 4Q LIFTS VIDEO SERVICE ABOVE 200M SUBSCRIBERS

Netflix’s video streaming service has surpassed 200 million subscribers for the first time as its expanding line-up of TV series and movies continues to captivate people stuck at home during the ongoing battle against the pandemic.

The subscriber milestone highlighted Netflix’s fourth-quarter results released this week. The service added another 8.5 million subscribers during the October-December period, capping Netflix’s biggest year since its inception as a DVD by-mail service in 1997. Netflix ended the year with nearly 204 million worldwide subscribers.

The fourth-quarter gains easily topped the projections of the roughly 6 million additional subscribers projected by Netflix’s own management and Wall Street analysts. Netflix’s stock surged by more than 13% extended trading after the latest subscriber numbers came out.

After its upending of the DVD-rental industry, Netflix introduced the then-revolutionary concept of streaming TV shows and films 14 years ago. At that time, its service had a mere 6 million subscribers.