Netflix’s international operations are proving to be increasingly important to its overall business as growth in the US slows.
Furthermore, having successfully launched in Japan and set to make its debut next week in Spain, Italy and Portugal, the service remains on track to become global by the end of next year.
In its Q3 results, the SVOD service says that while global growth was as it expected, its forecast was high for the US and low for international.
It added 0.88 million new US members in the quarter compared to 0.98 million a year earlier and a forecast of 1.15 million.
The over forecast for the US was in its view due to involuntary churn, driven partly by the transition to chip-based credit and debit card.
However, in terms of US net additions in the first nine months of the year Netflix was slightly ahead on the same period in 2014 and it expects to finish the year at around 2014 levels.
Internationally, net add growth in Q3 was 2.74 million compared to 2.04 million a year earlier and the forecast of 2.4 million.
Netflix expects international losses to grow sequentially in Q4 with the new launches in Spain, Italy and Portugal.
The service will then make its debut in South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore in early 2016. It should break even in 2016 and become profitable thereafter.
Netflix had revenues of $1,064 million in the US in Q3, compared to $877 million a year earlier, while its international operations claimed $517 million ($346 million).
It had over 69 million members globally at the end of Q3 and expects to end the year with over 74 million.
