The video streaming service Netflix lost less than half as many subscribers as management had feared in the past quarter.

From April to June, the number fell by 970,000, the group announced after the stock market in America closed.

In April, Netflix warned that two million customers would be lost in the quarter.

That had raised questions about long-term growth prospects.

In the current quarter from July to September one will probably win a million new customers, it was also said.

Analysts have so far assumed 1.84 million.

Netflix shares, which have lost almost two-thirds of their value this year, still gained almost ten percent in after-hours trading.

For the past quarter, Netflix also said that sales had increased by nine percent to $7.97 billion.

Without the strong dollar, the plus would have been 13 percent, it said.

After years of rapid growth, Netflix has recently suffered from rivals like Walt Disney, Warner Bros Discovery and Apple investing heavily in their own streaming services.