Original movieSpenser Confidentialwas streamed in 85 million homes, while the unscripted dating showLove is Blindstreamed in 30 million.
The company said that stay-at-home measures prompted by the pandemic caused “significant disruption” for customer support and content production, though it says customer service is now working smoothly again, thanks in part to the recent hiring of 2,000 extra personnel.
Production, as you’d expect, is more of a challenge. “Almost all filming has now been stopped globally,” Netflix said, adding: “This has been devastating for millions of workers in the TV and film industry — electricians, hair and make-up artists, carpenters, and drivers who are often paid hourly wages and work project-to-project.”
To support the industry, Netflix created a $100 million fund in March, with payouts prioritized for the hardest-hit workers on its originals productions until government safety nets kick in. Around $30 million is also going to third parties and nonprofits as a way to support out-of-work crew and cast across the broader TV and film industry in locations around the world.
But despite the current disruption, the company said that content it planned to release in the second quarter is still set to hit the streaming service on time because filming had already finished.
Notably, the California-based company said that it expects viewing to decline and membership growth to decelerate as home confinement ends. It’ll certainly be interesting to see how many of those new sign-ups stay on board once life starts to get back to normal.
Netflix also revealed that it has rolled out its newTop 10 lists featureto more than 100 countries after trialing it in the U.K. and Mexico at the start of the year. The movie currently at the top of some countries’ top 10 lists?Contagion, of course.
