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‘Squid Game’ Helps Make Asia Lone Bright Spot for Netflix

Netflix shares plunged 25% after it lost 2 lakh customers in the first quarter, the first time it has shed subscribers since 2011.

‘Squid Game’ Helps Make Asia Lone Bright Spot for Netflix
The Netflix Inc. television series 'Squid Game' on a smartphone. [Photographer: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg]

South Korean dystopian hit ‘Squid Game’ has helped make Asia a lone bright spot for Netflix Inc., which added more than 1 million subscribers in the region last quarter, even as the streaming service’s total audience declined for the first time in a decade. 

‘Squid Game,’ in which a group of indebted people compete in deadly versions of childhood games to win life-changing money while super-rich VIPs watch, became Netflix’s biggest launch ever. That success has spawned a deeper push into Asian content, including the Korean zombie series “All Of Us Are Dead” that took off this year.

‘Squid Game’ Helps Make Asia Lone Bright Spot for Netflix

Netflix shares plunged about 25% in extended trading after saying it lost 200,000 customers in the first quarter -- the first time it has shed subscribers since 2011. The company also said it expects to shed 2 million more this quarter. 

The company lost customers in three of its four regions, including more than 600,000 in the U.S. and Canada. It blamed most of that attrition on a price increase, and said the decline was expected. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine cost the company another 700,000 customers when it had to pull its service in Russia, resulting in a loss of 300,000 customers in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.

‘Squid Game’ Helps Make Asia Lone Bright Spot for Netflix

In contrast, Asia-Pacific subscribers rose 1.09 million to 33.7 million. 

“We’re making good progress in APAC where we are seeing nice growth in a variety of markets including Japan, India, Philippines, Thailand and Taiwan,” management wrote in a letter to shareholders.

‘Squid Game’ Helps Make Asia Lone Bright Spot for Netflix

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.