Apple hasn’t disclosed the pricing of its service,
which will include programs featuring renowned
stars such as Oprah Winfrey, Jennifer Anniston and
Jason Momoa, nor a specific date for its debut.
Besides the good news on subscribers, Netflix’s
first-quarter profit of $344 million rose 19%
from the same time last year; it included a $58
million gain from currency adjustments. The
company earned 76 cents per share during the
first quarter, 18 cents above the estimate among
analysts polled by FactSet.
Netflix’s revenue climbed 22% to $4.5 billion.
But the company continues to spend more
cash than it is bringing in as it pours money into
a lineup of TV series and films that has been
attracting more subscribers. The company burned
through another $460 million in the quarter and
expects its negative cash flow this year to exceed
last year’s total of a negative $3.5 billion.