 have reached a record number of subscribers, causing shares to jump 11 percent during pre-market trading.){kind=link}
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) have reached a record number of subscribers, causing shares to jump 11 percent during pre-market trading.
The online streaming service now has more subscribers internationally than within its home US market, after a series of successful expansions into new countries.
During the quarter, the company recorded 1.07 million net additional subscribers in the US and 4.14 million internationally.
With the added 5.2 million new subscribers joining the on-demand service, total subscribers now topping 100 million.
Netflix currently dedicates $6 billion (£46 billion) a year on content, in its bid to become the world’s largest digital streaming platform.
“Our streaming membership grew more than expected, from 99m to 104m, due to our amazing content,” commentedd Reed Hastings, chief executive of Netflix, in a note to shareholders.
“We also crossed the symbolic milestones of 100 million members and more international than domestic members. It was a good quarter.”
The release of new seasons of Netflix original programs such as House of Cards and Orange is the new Black helped drive a surge in subscribers from 83 million a year ago, to 104 million in its second quarter.
Overall, revenue rose 32.3 percent to $2.79 billion in the second quarter, with net incrome up at $65.6 million.
This proved above figures projected by both analysts and Netflix for the second quarter, which has traditionally proved a more slower period for the company.
In recent years, Netflix has been credited with having transformed the nature of the entertainment industry with a surge in popularity of small screen shows as opposed to the big screen.
However, Netflix is facing increased competition from rival streaming services such as Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Prime Video and Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) YouTube.
Nonetheless, CEO Hastings remained unperturbed about rivals denting progression for the company. He commented:
“It seems our growth just expands the market,” he said.
“The largely exclusive nature of each service’s content means that we are not direct substitutes for each other, but rather complements.
Shares in Netflix are currently up 0.36 percent as of 11.24AM (GMT).