Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. a subscriber
    • ex. The magazine sends coupons to its subscribers on their birthdays.
  2. a crackdown
    • ex. The school started a crackdown on students who break the rules.
  3. a streaming service
    • ex. The streaming service added a popular TV show to its collection.
  4. revenue
    • ex. The cafe increased its revenue by selling cakes and coffee online.
  5. financial
    • ex. The bank offers financial services to help people buy houses.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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Netflix recently reported that the growth of their new subscribers slowed during the summer. The company added just 5.1 million new subscribers between July and September. This is 42% less than the same time last year. This happened because the benefits of Netflix’s crackdown on password sharing started to decrease. However, the company made more money than experts expected, with profits reaching $2.36 billion (about ¥362 billion), a 41% increase from last year.

As of September, Netflix had 282.7 million subscribers worldwide, which is more than any other streaming service. The company’s revenue climbed 15% to $9.82 billion (more than ¥1.5 trillion), and the company predicts similar growth for the next quarter. The strong financial performance has helped ease concerns about the slow growth of subscribers.

Netflix also grew because of its low-cost plan that includes advertisements in between movies and shows. This is a mark of a new direction for the streaming service. As the company adjusts to changing market conditions, it continues to explore new content and shows. For example, the company plans to show two National Football League games on Christmas day to attract more subscribers.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Netflix

  • Do you use Netflix’s services? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Netflix did a crackdown on subscribers sharing passwords with others. Do you think this is a good decision? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Imagine you are one of Netflix’s leaders. What changes would you make to help with slow subscriber growth? Discuss.

Streaming Service

  • What video streaming services do you like using? Discuss.
  • Do you think streaming services are better than traditional TV and cinema? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • What features would you like to see in your favorite streaming service (ex. more security features, more low-cost plans)? Discuss.