Netflix subscribers increase in 2024 thanks to live programming

The streamer's revenue also increased by 16% for the year.

Netflix’s live programming – including the NFL game with Beyonce at halftime and the boxing bout between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul – helped the streaming service attract 19 million new customers in Q4 2024, setting a record for the company, according to its latest earnings report. The streamer had 302 million users by the end of 2024, an increase of 41 million from 2023.

“Our Q4 slate outperformed even our high expectations: Squid Game season 2 is on track to become one of our most-watched original series seasons, Carry-On joined our all-time Top 10 films list, the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight became the most-streamed sporting event ever and on Christmas Day we delivered the two most-streamed NFL games in history,” wrote the company in its quarterly letter.

For the year, Netflix revenue grew 16% and operating margin expanded six points to 27%. In the fourth quarter, operating revenues totaled $10.2 billion. The company also reported fourth-quarter revenue in Canada and the U.S. of $4.5 billion and an average revenue per membership of 17%. It ended the quarter with 89.63 subscribers in the region.

The streamer said it forecasts revenue of $10.4 billion and operating profit of $2.9 billion in the first quarter of 2025. The company also increased its total 2025 revenue forecast by $500 million to $43.5 billion-44.5 billion.

“Our business remains intensely competitive with many formidable competitors across traditional entertainment and big tech. We’re fortunate that we don’t have distractions like managing declining linear networks and, with our focus and continued investment, we have good and improving product/market fit around the world,” said Netflix.

“We have to continue to improve all aspects of Netflix – more series and films our members love, a great product experience, increased sophistication in our plans and pricing strategy (including more advertising capabilities) – and grow into new areas like live programming and games. If we do that well, we believe we’ll have an increasingly valuable company – for consumers, creators and shareholders.”

Kicking off the year, the streamer announced its first price increase in two years, including for its ad-supported tier. And earlier this month, it began streaming live episodes of WWE Raw each week and recently announced that it has secured U.S. rights to the FIFA Women’s World Cup for 2027 and 2031.