Status: 10/20/2021 10:54 a.m.
Macabre, brutal, popular: “Squid Game” is the most successful Netflix series of all time and has helped the company to make billions in profits. But the series also shows how much the Netflix success depends on one-off effects.
In a post-pandemic world, Netflix will not be able to maintain its high user numbers. The increasing competition – from Disney + to HBO Max to Apple TV – will scare the streaming service. The group threatens to sink into debt. Industry experts have been so critical of Netflix recently.
But now the streaming pioneer has presented figures that – at least at first glance – could prove its critics wrong. In the third quarter, the number of worldwide subscribers soared by 4.4 million to just under 214 million. Netflix easily exceeded its own forecast of 3.5 million new customers.
Deadly children’s games on social media a success
The basis of this entrepreneurial success is the South Korean series “Squid Game”, which has developed into a worldwide phenomenon within a very short time since its start on September 17th. In the dystopian series, highly indebted people take part in “children’s games”. The price: 45.6 billion won (33 million euros). The commitment: your own life.
Not least thanks to the iconographic uniforms, the series has also taken social networks by storm. Excerpts from the series and memes went viral, creating a real social media community around the series.
“Squid Game” is the most successful Netflix series of all time
According to a Bloomberg report, Netflix puts the nine-part series worth almost $ 900 million for the company. This means that “Squid Game” has more than earned its production costs of around $ 21.4 million. Now the streaming service announced that “Squid Game” had already been viewed from an “unbelievable” 142 million user accounts four weeks after its launch, making it “our biggest TV show ever”.
Even if Netflix only refers to people who have watched “Squid Game” for at least two minutes, it is impressive. For comparison: Disney + last had a total of 116 million subscribers. In addition, according to Netflix, 87 million people are said to have seen the complete “Squid Game” series in the first 23 days.
Binge watching for advanced users
With the South Korean hit series, Netflix has once again asserted its claim to be the “King of Content” among streaming portals. Netflix doesn’t have to deliver quantity in order to satisfy its users, but quality. In the case of streaming portals, quality means: series that tempt you to binge-watch, i.e. to watch one episode after the other – almost like being in a frenzy.
The value of “Squid Game” to the company is based not only on new subscriber numbers, but also on the fact that it reminds its user base that they are getting content on Netflix that no other streaming portal can deliver to them.
First “Bridgerton”, then “Squid Game”
That Netflix masters this profession, it had recently proven with “Bridgerton”. In the first 28 days of its launch, 82 million Netflix subscribers began streaming the British period drama penned by “Grey’s Anatomy” inventor Shonda Rhimes. This made “Bridgerton” the most watched Netflix series of all time – until “Squid Game” hit the scene.
It is not least thanks to the success of “Squid Game” that Netflix has now presented such good quarterly figures in the middle of the week. Net income rose in the three months to the end of September compared to the previous year by more than 80 percent to 1.45 billion dollars. Hardly any analyst had expected a profit of this magnitude.
Growing dependence on one-off effects
But the success of “Squid Game” is possibly also one of the greatest risks for the Los Gatos company. Because future Netflix series will have to be measured by this success. At the same time, it shows once again how dependent Netflix’s entrepreneurial success, and thus also the share price, has now become on one-off effects such as “Bridgerton” and “Squid Game”.
The fact that the Netflix share is now on a price gain of around 20 percent since the beginning of the year is mainly due to the “Squid Game” -driven price increase during the past two months. Previously, the paper trended sideways to slightly in the red.
When children act out “Squid Game”
But: Can you really hope that Netflix will manage to pull a series like “Bridgerton” or “Squid Game” out of its hat with good regularity? In any case, the Netflix managers around boss Reed Hastings do not want to rely on it. Most recently, they tried to broaden the company by diversifying its business areas. With video game offerings, they want to stand out more from the streaming competition in the future and tap into new customer groups.
In addition, as part of a partnership with Walmart, Netflix set up an online shop for Netflix content on the website of the US retailer. What is striking, however, is that customers are looking in vain for the most successful Netflix series of all time. Was that due to the, in some cases, negative headlines about “Squid Game”?
The fact is: The “Squid Game” hype has its downsides that extend far beyond the company. Because the “children’s games” in the series encourage children to re-enact them. In Belgium, for example, pupils have imitated the game “red light, blue light”. The loser was beaten up by his classmates. According to the British “Mirror”, schools in London have already sent warning letters to parents.