KOLKATA: Netflix is growing its revenue in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region steadily. The streaming service has posted $2.38 billion revenue for the region in 2020 in an SEC filing, up from $1.47 billion with which it ended 2019. Earlier, Media Partners Asia (MPA) estimated that Netflix would end 2020 with $2.4 billion of revenue from the APAC region.
According to the filing, the global streaming giant has reached a subscriber base of 25.5 million as of 31 December 2020, compared to 16.23 million subscriber base at the end of 2019. However, average revenue per month per user stood at $9.12, slightly down from $9.24 in 2019. Overall, Netflix crossed the 200 million subscribers milestone in 2020 and achieved $25 billion in annual revenue.
“Consolidated revenues for the year ended 31 December 2020 increased 24 per cent as compared to the year ended 31 December 31 2019. The increase in our consolidated revenues was due to the 24 per cent growth in average paying memberships and a one per cent increase in average monthly revenue per paying membership,” the company said.
The operating margin has gone up too, the growth being attributed to increased revenues and decreased marketing costs, coupled with cost of revenues, technology and development, and general and administrative costs growing at a slower rate as compared to the 24 per cent increase in revenues.
Marketing expenses of the company has declined by 16 per cent year-on-year, primarily due to a $432 million decrease in advertising expenses.
“The Covid2019 pandemic also led to an increase in our net paid membership additions relative to our quarterly forecast and historic trends in the first half of 2020, and slower net paid membership additions in the second half of 2020 relative to historic trends,” the company stated.
Netflix currently has six per cent of its total employees in the APAC region. It had approximately 9,400 full-time employees located globally in 59 countries, as of 31 December. Of these, 7,600 (81 per cent) were located in the United States and Canada, 1,000 (11 per cent ) in Europe, Middle East, and Africa, and 200 (two per cent) in Latin America.
Along with other APAC countries, Netflix has significantly increased its operation in India. It has not only strengthened its local content library but distribution partnerships as well. For example, it partnered with largest telco player Jio to offer a free mobile-only subscription to post-paid subscribers with an option to upgrade to traditional Netflix plans. An MPA report forecast earlier that the service would close the year with a paying base of 4.6 million subscribers in India.
