Netflix top grossing iPhone app after enabling content downloads

Posted:
in iPhone edited December 2016
Less than a week after enabling downloads of select TV shows and movies for offline viewing, Netflix on Monday beat out popular games and rival streaming services to become the top-grossing iPhone title for the first time ever.




As noted by Variety, Netflix now sits atop the Top Grossing list of Apple's Top Charts for iPhone in the U.S. App Store, bypassing games like Mobile Strike and Candy Crush Saga. The performance also places Netflix above music streaming giants Pandora and Spotify, both of which are consistently listed as top-ten earners.

According to app tracking firm SensorTower, Netflix is also the No. 1 grossing title on iPhone in India, Mexico, and Colombia.

Alongside a rise in revenues for iPhone, Netflix is now the third highest grossing app on the iPad App Store.

The development comes less than a week after the streaming service activated offline viewing for select original shows. The long-awaited download feature is currently restricted to "Stranger Things," "Orange is The New Black," "Narcos" and "The Crown," but Netflix promises additional titles will be added in the near future.

After years refusing to sell subscriptions through in-app purchases, which means ceding 30 percent of revenues to Apple, Netflix finally gave in last year. More recently, Apple in June announced a new App Store policy that cuts revenue sharing rates to 15 percent for customers who hold a subscription for more than one year.

Apple is also rumored to halve App Store fees for video content providers who agree to integrate their services with the company's new TV app, a move designed to the bolster Cupertino tech giant's play for the living room.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 13
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    Kinda want Apple to buy this company.

    Apple could pump money into original content and integrate the service into the OS.

    Yes I know it's expensive. I feel like it'll pay off dearly in the long run. 
    robin huber
  • Reply 2 of 13
    If the app is free to Netflix subscribers, where is the income to make it top grossing?
  • Reply 3 of 13
    cali said:
    Kinda want Apple to buy this company.

    Apple could pump money into original content and integrate the service into the OS.

    Yes I know it's expensive. I feel like it'll pay off dearly in the long run. 
    No. Apple is already doing it right. Have you seen the TV App? This is the right direction. It's still in the infant stage, but the TV is App is going to mature into the central content discovery and playback location. Users can add and subtract whatever services they want, and it all comes together in one central Apple-controlled UI under the TV App. 

    The solution isn't to just buy up everything thats halfway decent. The solution is to be the best platform and portal to the things out there...and stir up the innovation all over the wide developer world.
    uraharaStrangeDaysdouglas baileybadmonk
  • Reply 4 of 13
    carnegiecarnegie Posts: 1,077member
    If the app is free to Netflix subscribers, where is the income to make it top grossing?
    Subscription payments from those who pay through Apple rather than directly to Netflix or otherwise. 
    cali
  • Reply 5 of 13
    linkmanlinkman Posts: 1,035member
    If the app is free to Netflix subscribers, where is the income to make it top grossing?
    You can pay your monthly Netflix subscription through the app.
    cali
  • Reply 6 of 13
    sirlance99sirlance99 Posts: 1,293member
    linkman said:
    If the app is free to Netflix subscribers, where is the income to make it top grossing?
    You can pay your monthly Netflix subscription through the app.
    No way I'd ever do that. If I can pay directly to the website for the service I want I will always do that. I'd don't want Apple taking money away from the service's I use. 
  • Reply 7 of 13
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    linkman said:
    If the app is free to Netflix subscribers, where is the income to make it top grossing?
    You can pay your monthly Netflix subscription through the app.
    No way I'd ever do that. If I can pay directly to the website for the service I want I will always do that. I'd don't want Apple taking money away from the service's I use. 
    That's mighty noble of you. Have you considered starting an awareness campaign? 
    Rayz2016
  • Reply 8 of 13
    polymniapolymnia Posts: 1,080member
    linkman said:
    If the app is free to Netflix subscribers, where is the income to make it top grossing?
    You can pay your monthly Netflix subscription through the app.
    No way I'd ever do that. If I can pay directly to the website for the service I want I will always do that. I'd don't want Apple taking money away from the service's I use. 
    That's mighty noble of you. Have you considered starting an awareness campaign? 
    I think that comment is his campaign. 
    Rayz2016calibadmonk
  • Reply 9 of 13
    This article needs a correction: downloads are  not restricted to just those few shows. I'm having absolutely no problem finding things I can download.

    This was a widely desired feature - as can be seen by the sudden spike in position in the App Store. Kudos to Netflix for making their product even better!
  • Reply 10 of 13
    calicali Posts: 3,494member

    cali said:
    Kinda want Apple to buy this company.

    Apple could pump money into original content and integrate the service into the OS.

    Yes I know it's expensive. I feel like it'll pay off dearly in the long run. 
    No. Apple is already doing it right. Have you seen the TV App? This is the right direction. It's still in the infant stage, but the TV is App is going to mature into the central content discovery and playback location. Users can add and subtract whatever services they want, and it all comes together in one central Apple-controlled UI under the TV App. 

    The solution isn't to just buy up everything thats halfway decent. The solution is to be the best platform and portal to the things out there...and stir up the innovation all over the wide developer world.
    That's actually one of the reasons why I want Apple to own Netflix. Did you not know Netflix isn't participating in the TV app?  That's a huge gap.  

     Apple entered the streaming music business. If you could see where the Apple puck  is going, video streaming is next. 

     Netflix has a bigger head-start than Beats did. Like Apple Music(Beats), they would gather revenue from different OSes and virtually every damn screen.  I'd call that a lot better than "decent".  I wouldn't change the name from Netflix to Apple Video or anything like that though. 
    edited December 2016
  • Reply 11 of 13
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    linkman said:
    If the app is free to Netflix subscribers, where is the income to make it top grossing?
    You can pay your monthly Netflix subscription through the app.
    No way I'd ever do that. If I can pay directly to the website for the service I want I will always do that. I'd don't want Apple taking money away from the service's I use. 
    That actually makes you sound like a scumbag. Aren't using Apple devices to view the content?
  • Reply 12 of 13
    linkmanlinkman Posts: 1,035member
    cali said:
    linkman said:
    If the app is free to Netflix subscribers, where is the income to make it top grossing?
    You can pay your monthly Netflix subscription through the app.
    No way I'd ever do that. If I can pay directly to the website for the service I want I will always do that. I'd don't want Apple taking money away from the service's I use. 
    That actually makes you sound like a scumbag. Aren't using Apple devices to view the content?
    There is a difference between paying for the service through the app and using the app on an Apple device to view the content.
  • Reply 13 of 13
    carnegiecarnegie Posts: 1,077member
    linkman said:
    If the app is free to Netflix subscribers, where is the income to make it top grossing?
    You can pay your monthly Netflix subscription through the app.
    No way I'd ever do that. If I can pay directly to the website for the service I want I will always do that. I'd don't want Apple taking money away from the service's I use. 
    I don't pay for Netflix through iTunes myself, but for some it's a way to save a few bucks. Often enough you can find iTunes gift cards for 15-20% off which in effect means that  you get 15-20% off of anything you buy through iTunes. That's what I do for other things - I've always got extra iTunes gift cards that I bought at a discount that I can use to replenish my iTunes balance.
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