Netflix reported that its popular streaming service has added 8.05 million subscribers during Q2, a healthy gain from 5.89 million newcomers during the same period a year earlier. The streamer’s total of more than 277 million worldwide customers makes it by far the largest subscription service of its kind. Revenue climbed to $9.56 billion, a nearly 17 percent second quarter gain that outperformed its own projections. Subscriptions on the ad-supported tier grew 34 percent compared to Q1. Amidst upheaval in more traditional media environs, Netflix seems to be gliding along, closing Thursday with a market valuation of $277 billion.

Guidance points to a slowdown in new member growth, now that the password-sharing crackdown was enacted, and is essentially over, along with the effort to retain those who were severed from shared accounts by offering affordable deals.

CNN points out that in the U.S. Netflix is set to begin phasing out its cheapest ad-free plan, at $11.99 per month. “Basic users in the U.S. who want an ad-free viewing experience on Netflix will now have two choices: Netflix’s Standard plan, which costs $15.49 per month, and its Premium plan, which costs $22.99 per month,” while bargain-hunters are herded to its $6.99 monthly ad-supported plan.

Meanwhile, the company is building an in-house adtech platform that is due to begin testing in Canada this year and launch more broadly in 2025, Netflix said in its Q2 letter to shareholders.

Netflix “raised the low end of its forecast for full-year revenue growth, a sign of its continued strength as legacy entertainment companies grapple with cable’s demise,” reports The Wall Street Journal, assessing Q2 earnings. The 2024 forecast was updated to an expectation of 14-15 percent growth (up from 13-15 percent).

Another prediction — one that made it to Variety’s topline from the Q2 earnings call — was co-CEO Ted Sarandos’ prediction that “‘AI is going to generate a great set of creator tools, a great way for creators to tell better stories.’ And, he said, the business case for generative AI isn’t to reduce costs but to improve the quality of storytelling.”

The shareholder letter credits the company’s financial success to strong programming. “Shows like the third season of ‘Bridgerton,’ ‘Baby Reindeer’ (which landed 11 of Netflix’s industry-leading 107 Emmy nominations on Wednesday), ‘The Roast of Tom Brady,’ which attracted the company’s largest live audience ever, and films like the French horror movie ‘Under Paris’ and ‘Atlas’ starring Jennifer Lopez propelled the streaming giant to net income of $2.1 billion,” The New York Times summarizes.

“Nielsen statistics show Netflix as the second most-watched streaming service in the U.S., trailing only YouTube. But rather than worry about YouTube, Netflix is content to focus on the other 80 percent of the TV market,” CNBC concludes.