Netflix boss says coronavirus was ‘lucky break’ for his company

Streaming service saw huge surge in subscribers in 2020

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings: ‘It could have been an internet virus which shut down our routers, and Disney, with theme parks, would be fine’ (Reuters)

Netflix’s CEO Reed Hastings has reflected on the impact of coronavirus on the streaming giant, saying it turned out to be a “lucky break” for his company.

While many firms have floundered during lockdowns across the world, Netflix has seen subscriber numbers surge in 2020. Almost 16 million people created accounts in the first three months of the year, which is nearly double the new sign-ups it saw in the final months of 2019.

Netflix’s share price has also climbed more than 30 per cent this year as investors bet on its ability to benefit from people spending more time indoors.

“It turned out to be a biological virus, which didn’t mostly kill people but kept them home,” Hastings told The Times. “It could have been an internet virus which shut down our routers, and Disney, with theme parks, would be fine.”

He added: “What we have to recognise is sometimes you get a lucky break for a business and it’s not your fault. Don’t feel guilty. We just feel like, ‘OK, we’re serving customers and we get this boost.’

Reed Hastings speaks onstage during The New Yorker TechFest 2016 (Getty)

“Then, knock on wood, the vaccine will come. Covid will be over. We’ll all tell stories about 2020 and how crazy it was.”

Hastings co-founded Netflix in the Nineties, and to begin with it was a DVD mail-order firm. Now, it has nearly 193 million paying members in 190 countries.

Netflix garnered a total of 160 nominations for this year’s Emmy awards on the back of hit shows such as The Crown and Tiger King, setting an industry record and unseating rival HBO. The company also racked up 24 Oscar nominations for films including The Irishman and Marriage Story.