Netflix's big 4Q lifts video service above 200M subscribers

SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) — Netflix’s video streaming service has surpassed 200 million subscribers for the first time as its expanding line-up of TV series and movies continues to captivate people stuck at home during the ongoing battle against the pandemic.

The subscriber milestone highlighted Netflix’s fourth-quarter results released Tuesday. The service added another 8.5 million subscribers during the October-December period to cap Netflix’s biggest year since its inception as a DVD-by-mail service in 1997. Netflix ended the year with nearly 204 million worldwide subscribers.

The fourth-quarter gains easily topped the projections of the roughly 6 million additional subscribers projected by Netflix's own management and Wall Street analysts. Netflix's stock surged by nearly 9% in extended trading after the latest subscriber numbers came out.

After its upending the DVD-rental industry, Netflix introduced the then-revolutionary concept of streaming TV shows and films 14 years ago. At that time, its service had a mere 6 million subscribers.

The streaming service began to grow rapidly seven years ago when Netflix started producing its own shows and accelerated a worldwide expansion that now spans more than 190 countries. Since the February 2013 debut of its first original series, “House of Cards,” Netflix has attracted more than 170 million additional subscribers.

Netflix gained another 37 million subscribers last year, a 22% increase from 2019. Netflix’s stock fared even better, rising by 67% last year. The Los Gatos, California, company now boasts a market value of more than $220 billion.

For all its success, Netflix still faces challenges in the coming years from bevy of deep-pocketed rivals, with perhaps the most formidable posed by a more experienced...