Netflix Tops Subscriber Outlook as Spending Nears $8 Billion
- Company forecasts 2017 global subscribers to near 116 million
- Original shows account for more than 25% of program outlays
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From Germany to Brazil, Netflix Inc. stormed ahead in its drive to create a global television network, scoring the video-streaming provider’s best third quarter on record and sending the shares to a new high.
Shows such as thriller “Ozark,” starring Jason Bateman, “American Vandal,” a spoof of true crime shows, and a Jerry Seinfeld stand-up special helped lure 4.45 million customers abroad and 850,000 in the U.S., both ahead of estimates. They came at a cost. The company is paying $6 billion for programming in 2017 and said Monday it’ll increase that by as much as a third next year.