At the beginning of 2016, Netflix announced a major expansion that saw the streaming service being made available across most of the globe, which turned out to be a great move for the company. In its fourth-quarter earnings report, released Wednesday, the company revealed that it is growing faster than expected.
While Wall Street analysts expected the service to gain 1.45 million subscribers in the U.S. and 3.75 worldwide during the fourth quarter of 2016. Netflix did much better than that, adding nearly 2 million subscriptions domestically and around 5 million internationally. Much of the increase was spurred by the streaming service’s original programming.
“Gratifyingly, our first Brazilian original series, 3%, a sci-fi, post-apocalyptic thriller, premiered as one of the most-watched originals in Brazil and played well throughout Latin America,” the company’s letter to shareholders read.s “Moreover, bucking conventional wisdom, millions of U.S. members have watched the show dubbed and subtitled into English, making 3% the first Portuguese language television show to travel meaningfully beyond Latin America and Portugal.”
Netflix Originals viewers in the U.S. are familiar with the content that drew major viewership internationally. The company specifically mentioned that Marvel’s Luke Cake and the third season of Black Mirror were popular all over, while Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life debuted in the top 10 in every territory in which it was available.
As it continues to move forward, Netflix plans to develop more niche programming that has appeal in multiple regions, like Japanese anime and Turkish dramas. Along these lines, Netflix has inked a deal with Red Chillies Entertainment, the production company of Shah Rukh Khan, whom the company says is considered by many to be the biggest movie star on the planet.
The service’s future plans also involve following up on hits like Stranger Things and The Crown.