Netflix is taking its two goals very seriously: expanding globally and offering new original content. The streaming firm not only has promised its customers 600 hours of new original content but also made a giant step towards its goal of global domination by making an entry in 130 new countries (excluding China) on Wednesday.
Netflix: a global television network
On Wednesday, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings made an announcement at CES in Las Vegas that it has made available its services in several emerging markets, including India, Indonesia, Russia, Azerbaijan, and developed markets like Singapore and South Korea, and is now available in 130 additional countries.
“While you have been listening to me talk. The Netflix service has gone live in nearly every country of the world but China—where we hope to also be in the future,” the CEO said.
Hastings could not explain what’s wrong with China, but he did refer to Netflix as a global television network. At the close of his keynote at CES, Hastings said he believes that the service has basically taken over the world. Many might refer to Netflix as just another tech company that intends to take over the world, but this definitely is good news for Jessica Jones fans and fans of Netflix’s other originals across the world.
Stock rallies after Hastings announcement
Netflix, which was launched in the year 1997, is expected to have surpassed 74 million global subscribers by the end of 2015. Hastings said subscribers viewing climbed 45% in the last three months of the year compared with the same period in 2014. For the last three months of 2015, global content viewing was recorded at 12 billion hours.
Netflix was the best-performing S&P 500 stock for 2015 with a share price that more than doubled. The year was really good for the streaming service giant, but its shares had been down this year due to factors like the market sell-off and worries regarding subscriber growth. However, after Hastings’ disclosure, the company’s shares rallied.
On Wednesday, Netflix stock closed up 9.31% at $117.68. Year to date, the stock is up 8%, while in the last year, it is up by over 136%. The stock has a 52-week high of $133.27 and a 52-week low of $45.26.
