Netflix had an enormous quarter.

In its earnings report for This fall, the streaming large introduced its largest subscriber numbers up to now, including almost 19 million paid subs, which pushed its numbers to over 300 million paid accounts. As well as, the corporate stated 55% of sign-ups are coming to its advert tier, and the plan is so profitable that the streamer is raising prices, including to its rising backside line.

The information, which despatched Netflix’s inventory hovering to just about $1,000, is the final word mic drop on the streaming business.

Shifting ahead, the corporate is reporting updates by itself phrases.

Early final yr, the streamer introduced it might cease reporting quarterly subscriber numbers and common income per consumer in Q1 2025, and the corporate reiterated that in a letter to traders on Tuesday, saying it might solely “proceed to announce paid memberships as we cross key milestones.”

The announcement got here as a shock to the TV business in 2024, with the subscriber race being the early focus of the streaming wars. Now, specialists are explaining that the technique is about to repay for the corporate.

Streaming wars enter a brand new period

Dan Rayburn, a streaming media professional, informed ADWEEK that whereas some might accuse the platform of a scarcity of transparency, Netflix’s technique of withholding quarterly subscriber numbers is sensible as the corporate strikes past being identified solely as a subscription service.

“It’s arduous to have a single metric and let quite a lot of internet new subscribers dictate your small business when a bigger share of your income over time is coming from promoting,” Rayburn informed ADWEEK. “The variety of subs alone doesn’t dictate income for advertisements. It’s how a lot they watch, what your CPMs are, and the way effectively you do focused supply.”

In keeping with Rayburn, the subscriber quantity doesn’t give a full image of the enterprise, and even a smaller variety of subscribers can result in extra income in the event that they’re watching extra advertisements.

An absence of transparency round subscribers may additionally defend the corporate from fluctuations out there.

As Brandon Katz, senior leisure business strategist at Parrot Analytics, defined, by asserting that it’s not reporting common income per consumer or subscriber numbers, Netflix is getting forward of an anticipated slowdown in progress amid its password-sharing crackdown reaching saturation.