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Netflix's (NFLX) Big Mouth Renewal Expands Its Animated Content

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Netflix (NFLX - Free Report) is leaving no stone unturned to fend off rising competition in the streaming space. The company recently renewed the seventh season of Big Mouth, a half-an-hour adult animated comedy. The sixth season of Big Mouth will premiere later this year.

Netflix also renewed Big Mouth spin-off, Human Resources, for a second season. The critically acclaimed series premiered earlier this year.

Netflix is looking to gain more of its users’ time amid stiff competition from the likes of TikTok, as well as from streaming services provided by Disney (DIS - Free Report) , Apple (AAPL - Free Report) and Comcast (CMCSA - Free Report) . The streaming giant is looking to up the ante with a solid and diversified content portfolio, which is expected to keep the user base engaged.

Animation has gained significant popularity, thanks to the pandemic-induced disruptions that halted production of live-action programming. Adult-oriented animation shows like Big Mouth, Arcane: League of Legends (from Netflix), Hit-Monkey (from Marvel), Chicago Party Aunt (another Netflix show) and Fairfax (Amazon prime video) have attracted viewers worldwide.
 

 

Apart from adult-oriented content, Netflix is focusing on family shows to keep viewers engaged. The company recently inked a deal with Skydance to produce a reimagination of the successful 2001 Spy Kids franchise.

Apart from the new Spy Kids spinoff, Netflix is expected to bring a plethora of family-oriented content in the near term. The slate includes We Can Be Heroes, YES DAY, Slumberland, Enola Holmes 2, and The School for Good Evil.

What Awaits Netflix in Q1?

Netflix is set to report first-quarter 2022 results today. Subscriber addition rate is expected to remain muted due to the lack of content, stiff competition and macro-economic impact of COVID-19 in several parts of the world.

Netflix expects first-quarter 2022 paid net additions to be 2.5 million compared with the year-ago quarter’s 3.98 million. The company expects to end the first quarter of 2022 with 224.34 million paid subscribers globally, indicating growth of 8% from the year-ago quarter.

In the year-to-date period, Netflix’s shares have tumbled 44% compared with the Zacks Broadcast Radio and Television industry’s and the Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector’s declines of 30.7% and 15.8%, respectively.

This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company’s underperformance is primarily attributed to stiff competition in the streaming space. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Netflix’s closest competitor, Disney, benefits from the growing popularity of Disney+, owing to a strong content portfolio and a cheaper bundle offering.

The service offers nearly 700 movies and 11,700 episodes of television shows from brands such as Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic and Disney+ originals.

Disney is also expanding into international markets. Disney+, as of Jan 1, 2022, had 129.8 million paid subscribers compared with 94.9 million as of Jan 2, 2021.

Meanwhile, Comcast’s Peacock had 24.5 million monthly active accounts in the United States at the end of 2021. Comcast is focused on expanding Peacock’s streaming content portfolio and has pulled in shows like The Office from Netflix. Moreover, original content from the likes of WWE and the NFL is expected to aid subscriber growth for Peacock’s premium service.

Apple’s streaming service, Apple TV+, is gaining recognition, with Ted Lasso winning multiple Emmy Awards and, most recently, CODA winning three Academy Awards. This is expected to boost Apple TV+’s viewership.

Nevertheless, Netflix’s diversified content portfolio, attributable to heavy investments in the production and distribution of localized, foreign-language content, is a key catalyst.

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