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Netflix Crosses 230.75 Million Global Paid Subscribers, Co-CEO Reed Hastings Steps Down

IndieWire reported on Thursday that Netflix has crossed 230.75 million global paid subscribers, gaining 7.66 million subscribers in the final quarter of 2022. The news website also reported that the company's co-founder and co-CEO Reed Hastings is stepping down from his post.

Netflix also announced that its “paid sharing” subscription options will be available “more broadly” in the first quarter of 2023.

The company is appointing Greg Peters as co-CEO, who will serve alongside Ted Sarandos. Peters was formerly the chief operating officer of the company. Hastings will now serve as Netflix's executive chairman.

Netflix had predicted a gain of 4.50 million subscribers in 2022's fourth and final quarter. The company had added 2.41 million subscribers to its service in the third quarter of 2022, after losing about 200,000 subscribers in the year's first quarter, and another 970,000 in the second quarter.

Netflix's new advertisement-supported "Basic with Ads" subscription tier launched on November 3 in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Brazil, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, and Australia.

Netflix announced in June that it was laying off 300 employees from its workforce. The Hollywood Reporter stated that the layoffs constituted around 3% of the company's current workforce. Netflix laid off about 150 employees, mostly based in the United States, in May.

The streaming service implemented a price increase in subscription plans in the U.S. and Canada in early 2022.

Source: IndieWire (Tony Maglio) (link 2, Wilson Chapman)