The video streaming company expects to add 2.5 million subscribers in   June quarter.
Netflix's quarter ruined by Australia Television John McDuling Netflix's stunning growth phase in Australia appears to be over. Now it has entered a period of mere "steady" growth, and for investors, it's a problem. The streaming video company reported its quarterly results in the US this morning. Shares have tanked by as much as 10 per cent in after hours trading, after it forecast weaker than expected growth in subscribers in the current quarter - and it turns out Australia is a key part of that. 
Netflix said it expects to add 2.5 million subscribers globally in the   June quarter - 500,000 of them in the US, which is in line with previous quarters; but just 2 million in "international" markets - down from 2.4 million a year earlier. The reason for the international slowdown? In a word, us. "Our international forecast for fewer net adds than prior year is due to a tough comparison against the Australia/New Zealand launch," the company said in its letter to shareholders. Last year's launch in Australia and New Zealand created a "growth spike" that saw the number of international subscribers more than doubling compared to the same period a year earlier. But now "while ANZ is growing steadily this Q2, it is less than the launch spike last year," Netflix said.
So there it is: Australians (and New Zealanders) love Netflix, it's just that a lot of us have already signed up to the service. Or to put it another way, Netflix's Australian launch last year went so well, it's finding it hard to replicate that growth here or in other international markets. When you consider how many Aussies were using Netflix before the launch (via VPNs) then perhaps this is not surprising.