Netflix rakes in record UK profits as cost conscious Brits choose adverts
A rise in Brits choosing Netflix’s advertising tier helped the streaming giant rake in record profits as its UK revenue jumped towards the £2bn mark, it has been revealed.
The UK arm of the US giant has reported a pre-tax profit of £63m for 2024, up from the £60.6m it achieved in 2023 – the previous record.
New accounts filed with Companies House also show its revenue increased in the 12 months from £1.66bn to £1.84bn.
Netflix said the increase in its revenue was due to an 11 per cent rose in the average number of paid memberships during the year.
The streaming service has said more than 55 per cent of its new sign ups have come through its advertising tier while membership on its advertising plan grew by almost 30 per cent quarter over quarter.
Netflix added that the increase in its revenue was due to an 11 per cent rose in the average number of paid memberships during the year.
The number of subscribers to Netflix has been boosted by the streaming service’s crackdown on password sharing in the UK.
During the 12 months, the company distributed an interim dividend of £50m to its US parent. In August last year, it loaned also £375m to Netflix Inc.
The average number of people the business employed in the UK during 2024 increased from 220 to 263.
For the same financial year, Netflix Inc reported a revenue of $39bn (£29bn), up from $33.7bn in 2023 while its operating income also rose from $6.9bn to $10.4bn.
Its revenue totalled $10.5bn for the first quarter of its current financial year and $11bn for its second quarter.
In a statement, Netflix said: “Netflix is a significant contributor to the UK economy – investing $6bn over the last four years and working with over 50,000 cast and crew and 200+ producers to produce British content such as Adolescence, Baby Reindeer and Black Doves that is loved the world over.
“We’re committed for the long term and invest more here than any other country except the US.”
Brits pay extra to skip Netflix adverts
In May this year, a report revealed that Brits are spending £5bn a year just to avoid adverts on major streaming services.
The Finder report found that over 31m UK adults pay for premium, ad-free subscriptions across Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney + and Spotify.
The monthly national spend comes to £439m – or around £3m per minute of advertising skipped.
Netflix topped the charts as the most popular premium upgrade, with nearly two in five Brits, or 39 per cent, opting to pay £7 extra a month to dodge ads – a collective spend of £150m every month.
Based on average watch time, customers are effectively spending £1m per minute of ads skipped on Netflix alone.
Netflix has distanced itself from the Finder report and said it does not recognise the figures quoted.
Towards the start of 2025, Morning Wire reported that Netflix could soon advance their Formula 1 offering beyond Drive to Survive with the streaming giant plotting a move for live TV rights.
The company has already shown Mike Tyson’s bout with Jake Paul and Christmas Day NFL,