Netflix: First Quarter Adds 9.6m New Subscribers

Netflix kicked off the year with the biggest subscriber gains in the history of its video streaming service, but forecast a springtime slowdown that disappointed investors.

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The strong first-quarter performance coincided with the video streaming service’s biggest U.S. price increases and emerging streaming challenges from Walt Disney and Apple, two of the world’s most popular brands.

The video service added 9.6 million subscribers worldwide during the first quarter of 2019, topping the projections of both Netflix’s own management and Wall Street analysts. It’s the most subscribers that Netflix has gained during any three-month stretch since the Los Gatos, California, company unveiled its streaming service 12 years ago.

The surge announced Tuesday left Netflix with nearly 149 million subscribers through March.

Netflix expects to add another 5 million subscribers during the current quarter ending June, but that projection fell well below analysts’ forecast. It would also represent a decline from the 5.9 million customers that the service picked up during the same period last year.