by Thinus Ferreira
In its 2022 4th quarter earning report presentation on Thursday night Netflix announced that it had added 7 million subscribers, that it will enforce its newly-implemented password crackdown drive more broadly in 2023 and that Reed Hastings is stepping down as the video streamer's co-CEO.
Netflix added 7.66 million new subscribers during the last quarter of last year, more than the 4.5 million new subscribers it projected. It means that Netflix ended 2022 with 230.75 million subscribers in total worldwide, also higher than its projected 227.59 million.
Netflix announced that Reed Hastings, who co-founded Netflix and who will remain executive chairperson, is stepping down as co-CEO, while Ted Sarandos will remain as co-CEO.
Greg Peters is promoted to co-CEO, with Bela Bajaria promoted to chief content officer and Scott Stuber getting promoted to Netflix Film chairperson.
Netflix grew by 3.2 million subscribers in its Africa, Europe and Middle East region, 910 000 subscribers in the United States and Canada, added 1.76 million Latin American subscribers and another 1.8 million subscribers in the Asia-Pacific region.
In its shareholder letter, Netflix writes that "2022 was a tough year, with a bumpy start but a brighter finish".
'We believe we have a clear path to reaccelerate our revenue growth: continuing to improve all aspects of Netflix, launching paid sharing and building our ads offering. As always, our north stars remain pleasing our members and building even greater profitability over time."
Password crackdown for Africa
Netflix which started to introduce a password crackdown on sharing accounts in some regions in late-2022, plans to roll this out more broadly this year, including across Africa and South Africa.
"Later in Q1, we expect to start rolling out paid sharing more broadly," Netflix says in its latest shareholder letter.
"Today’s widespread account sharing (100M+ households) undermines our long-term ability to invest in and improve Netflix, as well as build our business. While our terms of use limit use of Netflix to a household, we recognise this is a change for members who share their account more broadly."
"So we've worked hard to build additional new features that improve the Netflix experience, including the ability for members to review which devices are using their account and to transfer a profile to a new account."
"As we roll out paid sharing, members in many countries will also have the option to pay extra if they want to share Netflix with people they don't live with. As is the case today, all members will be able to watch while travelling, whether on a TV or mobile device."
