Netflix sees biggest jump in APAC memberships in Q4

Netflix says its APAC paid memberships grew by 1.75 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, marking its strongest regional growth of the year. The total number now sits at 16.23 million paid memberships, up from 14.49 million in Q3.

The figures were released as part of Netflix's global Q4 earnings and follow last month's release of historical data showing APAC was Netflix's largest growth region, though still smallest overall. 

The Q4 data shows Netflix APAC revenue rose to US$418 million, a 51% jump year-on-year from $277 million a year ago, and up from $382 million in Q3. Average revenue per user in APAC dipped slightly however, down 1% from last year. 

Netflix is looking to mobile for growth in Asia-Pacific, having launched mobile-only plans in Malaysia and Indonesia in Q4 after bringing these to India in Q3 last year. "We expect the mobile-only plan to be revenue-positive which will allow us to further invest in content," its earnings release stated. 

Globally, paid memberships were up by 8.8 million in overall 2019, a 20% gain to 167 million worldwide. Netflix global Q4 revenue was $5.5 billion, up 31% on year. 

The streaming service cited its strong content offering in Q4 for its recent success, including its third season of The Crown; its biggest first season series ever, The Witcher, and the Martin Scorcese-directed film The Irishman.  

Netflix also noted it is "investing heavily" in Korean stories given the global popularity of K-content, citing its deal last quarter with Korean media company JTBC for a TV output deal and a strategic partnership with CJ ENM’s Studio Dragon, Korea’s largest TV studio. "These deals will enable us to bring more K-dramas to fans all over the world," Netflix said. 

In a separate announcement, Netflix also announced a deal with the international subsidiary of Japan's Pokémon Company to premiere the newest animated Pokémon movie exclusively on Netflix globally outside of Japan and Korea. Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution will debut on February 27, 2020.