NEW YORK (Reuters) – Netflix Inc is expanding its online video service to 43 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and its shares rose 5 percent in early trading.
This is Netflix's second foray outside the United States. It began offering its services in Canada last year.
Netflix, which offers TV shows and movies over the Internet and rents DVDs through the mail, is seeking new subscribers as competitors such as Apple, Google and Hulu are moving in on Netflix's turf.
Netflix said on Tuesday that subscribers in Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean will be able to access shows and movies in Spanish, Portuguese or English later this year.
Once considered a friend to TV and movie studios, media conglomerates have fretted over the service's popularity because it threatens traditional cable and satellite providers.
The fear is that consumers will drop pricey cable packages -- known as cord cutting -- in favor of cheaper services offered by companies such as Netflix.
Netflix has more than 23 million subscribers. By contrast, Comcast, the No. 1 U.S. cable operator, has 22.8 million subscribers as of March 31.
Shares were up $13.26 at $281.25 in early Nasdaq trading.
(Reporting by Jennifer Saba; editing by John Wallace and Derek Caney)
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