As lockdowns around the world keep people at home, where they want to be entertained, Netflix has seen subscriber numbers surge this year.
Almost 16 million people created accounts in the first three months of the year, the firm said.
That is almost double the new sign-ups it saw in the final months of 2019.
However, the streaming service, which is behind some multi-million dollar productions, said shutdowns have halted “almost all” filming around the world.
And sharp declines in the value of many currencies has meant new subscribers outside of the US, where Netflix is based, are not worth as much to the company as they would have been before the crisis. And that has hurt its international revenue growth.
Nevertheless, the home-entertainment giant’s share price has climbed more than 30% this year as investors bet on on its ability to benefit from people spending more time indoors.
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Europe, the Middle East and Africa accounted for the largest number of new members with almost 7 million new subscribers. Growth in the US and Canada, which has lagged in recent quarters, also jumped, with 2.3 million new members joining the service, compared to just 550,000 in the final months of 2019.
The firm now has more than 182 million subscribers worldwide.
Netflix said revenue increased to $5.76 billion, up more than 27% compared to the same period in 2019. Profits almost doubled from $344 million in the first quarter of 2019 to $709 million.
