Consumers, Creators ‘Clear Beneficiaries’ of Upcoming OTT Debuts, Says Netflix

Netflix recorded 9.6 million net paid subscriber additions globally in Q1, 8 percent better than its January forecast, said a quarterly shareholder letter Tuesday. With Apple and Disney both recently unveiling details of their direct-to-consumer subscription video service offerings, “the clear beneficiaries will be content creators and consumers who will reap the rewards of many companies vying to provide a great video experience for audiences,” said Netflix. “We don’t anticipate that these new entrants will materially affect our growth because the transition from linear to on demand entertainment is so massive and because of the differing nature of our content offerings.” All three services will “continue to grow as we each invest more in content and improve our service and as consumers continue to migrate away from linear viewing (similar to how US cable networks collectively grew for years as viewing shifted from broadcast networks during the 1980s and 1990s).”