The massive success of “Squid Game” Season 2 has everyone talking – including financial analysts making bold predictions about its potential earnings. However, Netflix wants to set the record straight for how their business works.
On January 1, Netflix found itself responding to some ambitious revenue forecasts. A South Korean research group, K Entertech Hub, had predicted that Season 2 would generate a whopping 1.5 trillion won (about $1 billion) in revenue. Netflix's response? Not so fast.
The streaming giant explained a crucial point about their business model: as a subscription service, they don't make money from individual shows like traditional media. You can't simply calculate a show's “revenue” the way you might with movie ticket sales or pay-per-view events.
That said, there's no denying Squid Game Season 2‘s incredible performance. Within just two days of its December 26 release, the show topped Netflix's rankings in 93 countries – an achievement that took the first season eight days to reach. The numbers from various analytics firms paint an impressive picture:
- Parrot Analytics reported strong “demand factors” across multiple countries, with the US hitting 108% and solid performances in France (95%), Russia (81%), and Taiwan (80%)
- Social media buzz was through the roof, with 3.1 million mentions generating over 5 billion potential impressions, according to Sprout Social
- The show hit a perfect score of 930 points on streaming analytics site FlixPatrol
K Entertech Hub's optimistic forecast wasn't completely unfounded. They based their predictions on Season 1's remarkable success, which reportedly turned a 25 billion won investment into 1 trillion won in value – a 40x return. With Season 2's budget quadrupling to 100 billion won, they estimated at least a 10x return.
However, Netflix maintains that this calculation fundamentally misunderstands how streaming platforms generate revenue. Their business relies on monthly subscription fees, not individual show performance. While hit shows like Squid Game certainly help attract and retain subscribers, there's no direct way to translate viewership into specific revenue figures.
Netflix's pushback highlights an important distinction in today's entertainment landscape: the streaming model operates very differently from traditional media. While we can measure a show's popularity through various metrics, connecting those numbers directly to dollar signs isn't as straightforward as it might seem.
The real measure of Squid Game Season 2's success will likely be seen in Netflix's overall subscriber growth and retention – numbers that reflect the broader value of their entire content library rather than any single show, no matter how popular it becomes.
