San Francisco (AFP)

"Large containment" has strengthened the leading position of Netflix, which now has 183 million subscribers, but the streaming giant is cautious about its future because of the uncertainties linked to the pandemic and the increasing competition from its rivals .

The platform has attracted 15.8 million new paying subscribers from January to March, against 9.6 million over the same period last year, according to its press release published on Tuesday.

An acceleration that the group describes as "temporary", in direct link with the measures of social distancing taken in the world to stop the progression of Covid-19.

"It's a record of new subscribers," said David Sidebottom, analyst at Futuresource. "This comes from new households, but also from former followers who had terminated their contract."

The streaming service was also able to capitalize on the enthusiasm aroused by "Tiger King" ("In the Kingdom of the big cats"), a series between reality TV and documentary on the breeding of felines in the United States, released on March 20.

"It was an incredibly timely distraction that allowed people to talk about something other than news," said Ted Sarandos, content director, at an online conference for investors.

For the second quarter, Netflix expects 7.5 million additional customers, but specifies that this is only a "hypothesis".

"It's very complicated to think in the long term, because for the moment we are focused on our small contribution in these difficult times, which is to make the containment a little more bearable," said Reed Hastings, co-founder and boss of the group.

- The kitchens of Netflix -

The California-based company expects subscriber growth to slow when social life resumes.

"People who didn't join Netflix during the entire confinement probably won't do it right after," she notes.

The very good results of the company earned him only a timid approval from Wall Street, where the title appreciated by 0.2% during electronic exchanges after the close.

Netflix doubled its first quarter net profit to $ 709 million for revenue of $ 5.8 billion, up 28% from a year ago.

The platform has cash reserves, since certain expenses have been postponed until the production of films and series can resume.

However, she is not worried about the probable schedule delays.

"Most of our films and series scheduled for 2020 are already ready for broadcast or in post-production. For + The Crown +, for example, we are in the final stages, and the series (on the Queen of England, editor's note) will come out well this year, "said Ted Sarandos. "It's very complicated, but it's also remarkable: a lot of content will be finished from living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens all over the world!"

Netflix cannot afford to lose the pace of production, as competition rages between old and new market entrants.

- Hat artist -

Apple TV + and Disney + came on the scene with significant resources in the fall, followed by Quibi on mobiles recently, and soon joined by HBO Max (AT&T) and Peacock (Comcast) in the spring.

"Our original programming has gained in prevalence on the platform and we will continue in this direction because our suppliers are becoming our rivals and they will be less and less inclined to sell us content," admitted Ted Sarandos.

Disney, in particular, stood out by winning over 50 million paying subscribers worldwide, five months after its launch in the United States and two weeks after its arrival in Europe.

"I have never seen such a successful execution by the veteran of a sector. I take my hat off to them," ecstatic Reed Hastings, a good player. "You can bet that we will move up a gear for our content aimed at children and families!".

Governments promise to start easing containment measures starting in May.

Even if the cinemas and other places of release will not immediately reopen, the different actors will then be able to measure how much of their success simply came from the circumstances.

"The challenge for Netflix and other subscription platforms, including Disney +, is not only going to be to attract new subscribers after confinement, but above all to keep those they have acquired," observes David Sidebottom.

© 2020 AFP