Document And Entity Information - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
Document And Entity Information - USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Entity Registrant Name	NETFLIX INC
Entity Central Index Key	0001065280
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2018
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2018
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	436,598,597
Entity Shell Company	false
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Small Business	false
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Public Float		$ 148,681,810,838

Consolidated Statements of Operations - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 15,794,341	$ 11,692,713	$ 8,830,669
Cost of revenues	9,967,538	8,033,000	6,257,462
Marketing	2,369,469	1,436,281	1,097,519
Technology and development	1,221,814	953,710	780,232
General and administrative	630,294	431,043	315,663
Operating income	1,605,226	838,679	379,793
Other income (expense):
Interest expense	(420,493)	(238,204)	(150,114)
Interest and other income (expense)	41,725	(115,154)	30,828
Income before income taxes	1,226,458	485,321	260,507
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes	15,216	(73,608)	73,829
Net income	$ 1,211,242	$ 558,929	$ 186,678
Earnings per share:
Basic (in USD per share)	$ 2.78	$ 1.29	$ 0.44
Diluted (in USD per share)	$ 2.68	$ 1.25	$ 0.43
Weighted-average common shares outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	435,374	431,885	428,822
Diluted (in shares)	451,244	446,814	438,652

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Statement of Comprehensive Income [Abstract]
Net income	$ 1,211,242	$ 558,929	$ 186,678
Other comprehensive income (loss):
Foreign currency translation adjustments	975	27,409	(5,464)
Change in unrealized gains (losses) on available-for-sale securities, net of tax of $0, $378, and $126, respectively	0	599	207
Total other comprehensive income (loss)	975	28,008	(5,257)
Comprehensive income	$ 1,212,217	$ 586,937	$ 181,421

The portion of profit or loss for the period, net of income taxes, which is attributable to the parent.

+ References + Details

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Parenthetical) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Statement of Comprehensive Income [Abstract]
Change in unrealized gains (losses) on available for sale securities, tax	$ 0	$ 378	$ 126

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income	$ 1,211,242	$ 558,929	$ 186,678
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash used in operating activities:
Additions to streaming content assets	(13,043,437)	(9,805,763)	(8,653,286)
Change in streaming content liabilities	999,880	900,006	1,772,650
Amortization of streaming content assets	7,532,088	6,197,817	4,788,498
Amortization of DVD content assets	41,212	60,657	78,952
Depreciation and amortization of property, equipment and intangibles	83,157	71,911	57,528
Stock-based compensation expense	320,657	182,209	173,675
Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation	0	0	(65,121)
Other non-cash items	40,428	57,207	40,909
Foreign currency remeasurement loss (gain) on long-term debt	(73,953)	140,790	0
Deferred taxes	(85,520)	(208,688)	(46,847)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Other current assets	(200,192)	(234,090)	46,970
Accounts payable	199,198	74,559	32,247
Accrued expenses	150,422	114,337	68,706
Deferred revenue	142,277	177,974	96,751
Other non-current assets and liabilities	2,062	(73,803)	(52,294)
Net cash used in operating activities	(2,680,479)	(1,785,948)	(1,473,984)
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchases of property and equipment	(173,946)	(173,302)	(107,653)
Acquisition of DVD content assets	(38,586)	(53,720)	(77,177)
Other assets	(126,588)	(6,689)	(941)
Purchases of short-term investments	0	(74,819)	(187,193)
Proceeds from sale of short-term investments	0	320,154	282,484
Proceeds from maturities of short-term investments	0	22,705	140,245
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities	(339,120)	34,329	49,765
Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from issuance of debt	3,961,852	3,020,510	1,000,000
Issuance costs	(35,871)	(32,153)	(10,700)
Proceeds from issuance of common stock	124,502	88,378	36,979
Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation	0	0	65,121
Other financing activities	(1,956)	255	230
Net cash provided by financing activities	4,048,527	3,076,990	1,091,630
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	(39,682)	29,848	(9,165)
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	989,246	1,355,219	(341,754)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of year	2,822,795	1,467,576	1,809,330
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of year	3,812,041	2,822,795	1,467,576
Supplemental disclosure:
Income taxes paid	131,069	113,591	26,806
Interest paid	375,831	213,313	138,566
Increase (decrease) in investing activities included in liabilities	$ 2,560	$ (32,643)	$ 27,504

Consolidated Balance Sheets - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 3,794,483	$ 2,822,795
Current content assets, net	5,151,186	4,310,934
Other current assets	748,466	536,245
Total current assets	9,694,135	7,669,974
Non-current content assets, net	14,960,954	10,371,055
Property and equipment, net	418,281	319,404
Other non-current assets	901,030	652,309
Total assets	25,974,400	19,012,742
Current liabilities:
Current content liabilities	4,686,019	4,173,041
Accounts payable	562,985	359,555
Accrued expenses	477,417	315,094
Deferred revenue	760,899	618,622
Total current liabilities	6,487,320	5,466,312
Non-current content liabilities	3,759,026	3,329,796
Long-term debt	10,360,058	6,499,432
Other non-current liabilities	129,231	135,246
Total liabilities	20,735,635	15,430,786
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders’ equity:
Preferred stock, $0.001 par value; 10,000,000 shares authorized at December 31, 2018 and 2017; no shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2018 and 2017	0	0
Common stock, $0.001 par value; 4,990,000,000 shares authorized at December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively; 436,598,597 and 433,392,686 issued and outstanding at December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively	2,315,988	1,871,396
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(19,582)	(20,557)
Retained earnings	2,942,359	1,731,117
Total stockholders’ equity	5,238,765	3,581,956
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$ 25,974,400	$ 19,012,742

Consolidated Balance Sheets (Parenthetical) - $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Statement of Financial Position [Abstract]
Preferred stock, par value (in USD per share)	$ 0.001	$ 0.001
Preferred stock, shares authorized	10,000,000	10,000,000
Preferred stock, shares issued	0	0
Preferred stock, shares outstanding	0	0
Common stock, par value (in USD per share)	$ 0.001	$ 0.001
Common stock, shares authorized	4,990,000,000	4,990,000,000
Common stock, shares issued	436,598,597	433,392,696
Common stock, shares outstanding	436,598,597	433,392,686

Consolidated Statements of Stockholders' Equity - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Total	Common Stock and Additional Paid-in Capital	Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)	Retained Earnings
Beginning Balance at Dec. 31, 2015	$ 2,223,426	$ 1,324,809	$ (43,308)	$ 941,925
Beginning Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2015		427,940,440
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net income	186,678			186,678
Other comprehensive income (loss)	(5,257)		(5,257)
Issuance of common stock upon exercise of options	$ 36,979	$ 36,979
Issuance of common stock upon exercise of options (in shares)	2,113,772	2,113,772
Stock-based compensation expense	$ 173,675	$ 173,675
Excess stock option income tax benefits	64,299	64,299
Ending Balance at Dec. 31, 2016	2,679,800	$ 1,599,762	(48,565)	1,128,603
Ending Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2016		430,054,212
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Cumulative Effect Adjustment of ASU 2016-09	43,585			43,585
Net income	558,929			558,929
Other comprehensive income (loss)	28,008		28,008
Issuance of common stock upon exercise of options	$ 89,425	$ 89,425
Issuance of common stock upon exercise of options (in shares)	3,338,474	3,338,474
Stock-based compensation expense	$ 182,209	$ 182,209
Ending Balance at Dec. 31, 2017	3,581,956	$ 1,871,396	(20,557)	1,731,117
Ending Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2017		433,392,686
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net income	1,211,242			1,211,242
Other comprehensive income (loss)	975		975
Issuance of common stock upon exercise of options	$ 123,935	$ 123,935
Issuance of common stock upon exercise of options (in shares)	3,205,911	3,205,911
Stock-based compensation expense	$ 320,657	$ 320,657
Ending Balance at Dec. 31, 2018	$ 5,238,765	$ 2,315,988	$ (19,582)	$ 2,942,359
Ending Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2018		436,598,597

Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Description of Business

Netflix, Inc. (the “Company”) was incorporated on August 29, 1997 and began operations on April 14, 1998. The Company is the world’s leading internet entertainment service with over 139 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments. Additionally, over two million members in the U.S. subscribe to the Company's legacy DVD-by-mail service.

Basis of Presentation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. Intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated.

Reclassification

Certain prior period amounts in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Segment Information presented in Note 11 have been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation. Specifically, certain expenses for personnel that support global content and marketing that were previously classified in General and administrative expenses were reclassified to Cost of revenues and Marketing, respectively. In addition, expenses for personnel that support global streaming delivery that were previously classified in Technology and development were also reclassified to Cost of revenues. There is no change to consolidated operating income, net income or cash flows or DVD segment results as a result of this change in classification. See Note 12 for further detail.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Significant items subject to such estimates and assumptions include the streaming content asset amortization policy and the recognition and measurement of income tax assets and liabilities. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that the Company believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. On an ongoing basis, the Company evaluates these assumptions, judgments and estimates. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

Recently adopted accounting pronouncements

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) which amended the existing accounting standards for revenue recognition. ASU 2014-09 establishes principles for recognizing revenue upon the transfer of promised goods or services to customers, in an amount that reflects the expected consideration received in exchange for those goods or services. The Company adopted ASU 2014-09 in the first quarter of 2018 using the modified retrospective approach. Because the Company's primary source of revenues is from monthly membership fees which are recognized ratably over each monthly membership period, the impact on its consolidated financial statements is not material.

In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-18, Restricted Cash, which requires amounts generally described as restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the total beginning and ending amounts for the periods shown on the statement of cash flows. The Company adopted ASU 2016-18 in the first quarter of 2018 and the impact on its consolidated financial statements is not material as the Company's restricted cash balances are immaterial.

In January 2018, the FASB released guidance on the accounting for tax on the global intangible low-taxed income (“GILTI”) provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”). The GILTI provisions impose a tax on foreign income in excess of a deemed return on tangible assets of foreign corporations. In the first quarter of 2018, the Company elected to treat any potential GILTI inclusions as a period cost.

In August 2018, the SEC adopted the final rule under SEC Release No. 33-10532, Disclosure Update and Simplification, amending certain disclosure requirements that were redundant, duplicative, overlapping, outdated or superseded. In addition, the amendments expanded the disclosure requirements on the analysis of stockholders' equity for interim financial statements. Under the amendments, an analysis of changes in each caption of stockholders' equity presented in the balance sheet must be provided in a note or separate statement. The analysis should present a reconciliation of the beginning balance to the ending balance of each period for which a statement of comprehensive income is required to be filed. This final rule was effective on November 5, 2018. The Company adopted the rule in the fourth quarter of 2018 and the impact on its consolidated financial statements was not material.

Recently issued accounting pronouncements not yet adopted

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) in order to increase transparency and comparability among organizations by recognizing lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet for those leases classified as operating leases under current GAAP. ASU 2016-02 requires that a lessee should recognize a liability to make lease payments (the lease liability) and a right-of-use asset representing its right to use the underlying asset for the lease term on the balance sheet. ASU 2016-02 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018 (including interim periods within those periods) using a modified retrospective approach and early adoption is permitted. The Company will adopt ASU 2016-02 in the first quarter of 2019 utilizing the modified retrospective transition method through a cumulative-effect adjustment at the beginning of the first quarter of 2019. While the Company is continuing to assess the potential impacts of ASU 2016-02, the Company estimates that the adoption of ASU 2016-02 will result in the recognition of right-of-use assets and lease liabilities for operating leases of approximately $700 million on its Consolidated Balance Sheets, with no material impact to its Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Cash Equivalents and Short-term Investments

The Company considers investments in instruments purchased with an original maturity of 90 days or less to be cash equivalents. The Company also classifies amounts in transit from payment processors for customer credit card and debit card transactions as cash equivalents.

In July 2017, the Company sold all short-term investments. The Company classified short-term investments, which consisted of marketable securities with original maturities in excess of 90 days as available-for-sale. Short-term investments were reported at fair value with unrealized gains and losses included in “Accumulated other comprehensive loss” within Stockholders’ equity in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The amortization of premiums and discounts on the investments, realized gains and losses, and declines in value judged to be other-than-temporary on available-for-sale securities are included in “Interest and other income (expense)” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. The Company used the specific identification method to determine cost in calculating realized gains and losses upon the sale of short-term investments.

Short-term investments were reviewed periodically to identify possible other-than-temporary impairment. When evaluating the investments, the Company reviewed factors such as the length of time and extent to which fair value has been below cost basis, the financial condition of the issuer, the Company’s intent to sell, or whether it would be more likely than not that the Company would be required to sell the investments before the recovery of their amortized cost basis.

Streaming Content

The Company acquires, licenses and produces content, including original programming, in order to offer members unlimited viewing of TV series and films. The content licenses are for a fixed fee and specific windows of availability. Payment terms for certain content licenses and the production of content require more upfront cash payments relative to the amortization expense. Payments for content, including additions to streaming assets and the changes in related liabilities, are classified within "Net cash used in operating activities" on the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.

For licenses, the Company capitalizes the fee per title and records a corresponding liability at the gross amount of the liability when the license period begins, the cost of the title is known and the title is accepted and available for streaming. The portion available for streaming within one year is recognized as “Current content assets, net” and the remaining portion as “Non-current content assets, net” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

For productions, the Company capitalizes costs associated with the production, including development costs, direct costs and production overhead. These amounts are included in "Non-current content assets, net" on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Participations and residuals are expensed in line with the amortization of production costs.

Based on factors including historical and estimated viewing patterns, the Company amortizes the content assets (licensed and produced) in “Cost of revenues” on the Consolidated Statements of Operations over the shorter of each title's contractual window of availability or estimated period of use or 10 years, beginning with the month of first availability. The amortization is on an accelerated basis, as the Company typically expects more upfront viewing, for instance due to additional merchandising and marketing efforts, and film amortization is more accelerated than TV series amortization. The Company reviews factors impacting the amortization of the content assets on an ongoing basis. The Company's estimates related to these factors require considerable management judgment.

The Company's business model is subscription based as opposed to a model generating revenues at a specific title level. Therefore, content assets, both licensed and produced, are reviewed in aggregate at the operating segment level when an event or change in circumstances indicates a change in the expected usefulness of the content asset. To date, the Company has not identified any such event or changes in circumstances. If such changes are identified in the future, these aggregated content assets will be stated at the lower of unamortized cost, net realizable value or fair value. In addition, unamortized costs for assets that have been, or are expected to be, abandoned are written off.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment are carried at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is calculated using the straight-line method over the shorter of the estimated useful lives of the respective assets, generally up to 30 years, or the expected lease term for leasehold improvements, if applicable. Leased buildings are capitalized and included in property and equipment when the Company was involved in the construction funding and did not meet the “sale-leaseback” criteria.

Revenue Recognition

The Company's primary source of revenues are from monthly membership fees. Members are billed in advance of the start of their monthly membership and revenues are recognized ratably over each monthly membership period. Revenues are presented net of the taxes that are collected from members and remitted to governmental authorities. Deferred revenue consists of membership fees billed that have not been recognized and gift and other prepaid memberships that have not been redeemed. The Company is the principal in all its relationships where partners, including consumer electronics (“CE”) manufacturers, multichannel video programming distributors (“MVPDs”), mobile operators and internet service providers (“ISPs”), provide access to the service as the Company retains control over service delivery to its members. Typically, payments made to the partners, such as for marketing, are expensed, but in the case where the price that the member pays is established by the partners and there is no standalone price for the Netflix service (for instance, in a bundle), these payments are recognized as a reduction of revenues.

Marketing

Marketing expenses consist primarily of advertising expenses and certain payments made to the Company’s partners, including CE manufacturers, MVPDs, mobile operators and ISPs. Advertising expenses include promotional activities such as digital and television advertising. Advertising costs are expensed as incurred. Advertising expenses were $1,808 million, $1,091 million and $842 million for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Marketing expenses also include payroll and related expenses for personnel that support the Company's marketing activities.

Research and Development

Research and development expenses consist of payroll and related costs incurred in making improvements to our service offerings. Research and development expenses were $1,210 million, $981 million and $768 million for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Income Taxes

The Company records a provision for income taxes for the anticipated tax consequences of the reported results of operations using the asset and liability method. Deferred income taxes are recognized by applying enacted statutory tax rates applicable to future years to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases as well as net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date. The measurement of deferred tax assets is reduced, if necessary, by a valuation allowance for any tax benefits for which future realization is uncertain.

The Company did not recognize certain tax benefits from uncertain tax positions within the provision for income taxes. The Company may recognize a tax benefit only if it is more likely than not the tax position will be sustained on examination by the taxing authorities, based on the technical merits of the position. The tax benefits recognized in the financial statements from such positions are then measured based on the largest benefit that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon settlement. The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions in income tax expense. See Note 9 to the consolidated financial statements for further information regarding income taxes.

Foreign Currency

The functional currency for the Company's subsidiaries is determined based on the primary economic environment in which the subsidiary operates. The Company translates the assets and liabilities of its non-U.S. dollar functional currency subsidiaries into U.S. dollars using exchange rates in effect at the end of each period. Revenues and expenses for these subsidiaries are translated using rates that approximate those in effect during the period. Gains and losses from these translations are recognized in cumulative translation adjustment included in "Accumulated other comprehensive loss" in Stockholders’ equity on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The Company remeasures monetary assets and liabilities that are not denominated in the functional currency at exchange rates in effect at the end of each period. Gains and losses from these remeasurements are recognized in interest and other income (expense). Foreign currency transactions resulted in a loss of $1 million and $128 million for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively, and a gain of $23 million for the year ended December 31, 2016.

Earnings Per Share

Basic earnings per share is computed using the weighted-average number of outstanding shares of common stock during the period. Diluted earnings per share is computed using the weighted-average number of outstanding shares of common stock and, when dilutive, potential common shares outstanding during the period. Potential common shares consist of incremental shares issuable upon the assumed exercise of stock options. The computation of earnings per share is as follows:



	Year ended December 31,
	2018		2017		2016
	(in thousands, except per share data)
Basic earnings per share:
Net income	$	1,211,242	$	558,929	$	186,678
Shares used in computation:
Weighted-average common shares outstanding	435,374		431,885		428,822
Basic earnings per share	$	2.78	$	1.29	$	0.44
Diluted earnings per share:
Net income	$	1,211,242	$	558,929	$	186,678
Shares used in computation:
Weighted-average common shares outstanding	435,374		431,885		428,822
Employee stock options	15,870		14,929		9,830
Weighted-average number of shares	451,244		446,814		438,652
Diluted earnings per share	$	2.68	$	1.25	$	0.43

Employee stock options with exercise prices greater than the average market price of the common stock were excluded from the diluted calculation as their inclusion would have been anti-dilutive. The following table summarizes the potential common shares excluded from the diluted calculation:



	Year ended December 31,
	2018	2017	2016
	(in thousands)
Employee stock options	330	189	1,545

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company grants fully vested non-qualified stock options to its employees on a monthly basis. As a result of immediate vesting, stock-based compensation expense is fully recognized on the grant date, and no estimate is required for post-vesting option forfeitures. See Note 7 to the consolidated financial statements for further information regarding stock-based compensation.

Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Short-Term Investments And Fair Value Measurement [Abstract]

Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash

The following table summarizes the Company's cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash as of December 31, 2018 and 2017:



	As of December 31, 2018
	Cash and cash equivalents		Non-current Assets		Total
	(in thousands)
Cash	$	2,572,685	$	16,260	$	2,588,945
Level 1 securities:
Money market funds	1,221,798		1,298		1,223,096

	$	3,794,483	$	17,558	$	3,812,041



	As of December 31, 2017
	Cash and cash equivalents		Non-current Assets		Total
	(in thousands)
Cash	$	2,072,296	$	4,367	$	2,076,663
Level 1 securities:
Money market funds	449,734		1,276		451,010
Level 2 securities:
Time Deposits	300,765		—		300,765

	$	2,822,795	$	5,643	$	2,828,438

Non-current assets include restricted cash related to workers compensation deposits and letter of credit agreements. Balances as of December 31, 2018 are included in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash on the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. Foreign time deposits of $301 million, classified as Level 2 securities, were included in Cash and cash equivalents on the Company's Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2017.

In July 2017, the Company sold all short-term investments. There were no material gross realized gains or losses in the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

See Note 4 to the consolidated financial statements for further information regarding the fair value of the Company’s senior notes.

Balance Sheet Components

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Balance Sheet Components Disclosure [Abstract]

Balance Sheet Components

Content Assets

Content assets consisted of the following:



	As of December 31,
	2018		2017
	(in thousands)

Licensed content, net	$	14,081,463	$	11,771,778
Produced content, net
Released, less amortization	2,403,896		1,427,256
In production	3,305,126		1,311,137
In development and pre-production	311,842		158,517
	6,020,864		2,896,910
DVD, net	9,813		13,301
Total	$	20,112,140	$	14,681,989

Current content assets, net	$	5,151,186	$	4,310,934
Non-current content assets, net	$	14,960,954	$	10,371,055

On average, over 90% of a licensed or produced streaming content asset is expected to be amortized within four years after its month of first availability.

As of December 31, 2018, over 30% of the $20.1 billion unamortized cost is expected to be amortized within one year and 33% and 82% of the $2.4 billion unamortized cost of the produced content that has been released is expected to be amortized within one year and three years, respectively.

As of December 31, 2018, the amount of accrued participations and residuals was not material.

Property and Equipment, Net

Property and equipment and accumulated depreciation consisted of the following:



	As of December 31,						Estimated Useful Lives (in Years)
	2018			2017			Estimated Useful Lives (in Years)
	(in thousands)
Leasehold improvements	$	282,028		$	229,848		Over life of lease
Information technology	224,296			223,850			3 years
Furniture and fixtures	63,667			49,217			3-15 years
Buildings	73,468			40,681			30 years
Corporate aircraft	62,560			30,039			8 years
DVD operations equipment	53,416			59,316			5 years
Machinery and equipment	1,692			—			3 years
Land	6,125			—
Capital work-in-progress	19,548			8,267
Property and equipment, gross	786,800			641,218
Less: Accumulated depreciation	(368,519		)	(321,814		)
Property and equipment, net	$	418,281		$	319,404

Deferred Revenue

Deferred revenue consists of membership fees billed that have not been recognized, as well as gift and other prepaid memberships that have not been fully redeemed. As of December 31, 2018, total deferred revenue was $761 million, the vast majority of which was related to membership fees billed that are expected to be recognized as revenue within the next month. The remaining deferred revenue balance, which is related to gift cards and other prepaid memberships, will be recognized as revenue over the period of service after redemption, which is expected to occur over the next 12 months. The $142 million increase in deferred revenue as compared to the year ended December 31, 2017 is a result of the increase in membership fees billed due to increased memberships and average monthly revenue per paying memberships.

Long-term Debt

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Debt Disclosure [Abstract]

Long-term Debt

As of December 31, 2018, the Company had aggregate outstanding long-term notes of $10,360 million, net of $89 million of issuance costs, with varying maturities (the "Notes"). Each of the Notes were issued at par and are senior unsecured obligations of the Company. Interest is payable semi-annually at fixed rates. A portion of the outstanding long-term notes is denominated in foreign currency (comprised of €2,400 million) and is remeasured into U.S. dollars at each balance sheet date (with remeasurement gain totaling $74 million for the year ended December 31, 2018).

The following table provides a summary of the Company's outstanding long-term debt and the fair values based on quoted market prices in less active markets as of December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017:



					Level 2 Fair Value as of
	Principal Amount at Par	Issuance Date	Maturity	Interest Due Dates	December 31, 2018		December 31, 2017
	(in millions)				(in millions)
5.375% Senior Notes	500	February 2013	February 2021	February and August	$	509	$	530
5.50% Senior Notes	700	February 2015	February 2022	April and October	706		739
5.750% Senior Notes	400	February 2014	March 2024	March and September	407		427
5.875% Senior Notes	800	February 2015	February 2025	April and October	812		856
4.375% Senior Notes	1,000	October 2016	November 2026	May and November	915		983
3.625% Senior Notes (1)	1,489	May 2017	May 2027	May and November	1,446		1,575
4.875% Senior Notes	1,600	October 2017	April 2028	April and October	1,464		1,571
5.875% Senior Notes	1,900	April 2018	November 2028	May and November	1,851		—
4.625% Senior Notes (2)	1,260	October 2018	May 2029	May and November	1,241		—
6.375% Senior Notes	800	October 2018	May 2029	May and November	797		—
	10,449

(1) Debt is denominated in euro with a €1,300 million principal amount. Total proceeds were $1,421 million.

(2) Debt is denominated in euro with a €1,100 million principal amount. Total proceeds were $1,262 million.

The expected timing of principal and interest payments for these Notes are as follows:



	As of
	December 31, 2018		December 31, 2017
	(in thousands)
Less than one year	$	538,384	$	311,339
Due after one year and through three years	1,550,581		627,444
Due after three years and through five years	1,646,101		1,761,465
Due after five years	11,138,129		6,348,580
Total debt obligations	$	14,873,195	$	9,048,828

Each of the Notes are repayable in whole or in part upon the occurrence of a change of control, at the option of the holders, at a purchase price in cash equal to 101% of the principal plus accrued interest. The Company may redeem the Notes prior to maturity in whole or in part at an amount equal to the principal amount thereof plus accrued and unpaid interest and an applicable premium. The Notes include, among other terms and conditions, limitations on the Company's ability to create, incur or allow certain liens; enter into sale and lease-back transactions; create, assume, incur or guarantee additional indebtedness of certain of the Company's subsidiaries; and consolidate or merge with, or convey, transfer or lease all or substantially all of the Company's and its subsidiaries assets, to another person. As of December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the Company was in compliance with all related covenants.

Revolving Credit Facility

In July 2017, the Company entered into a $500 million unsecured revolving credit facility (“Revolving Credit Agreement”), with an uncommitted incremental facility to increase the amount of the revolving credit facility by up to an additional $250 million, subject to certain terms and conditions. Revolving loans may be borrowed, repaid and reborrowed until July 27, 2022, at which time all amounts borrowed must be repaid. The Company may use the proceeds of future borrowings under the Revolving Credit Agreement for working capital and general corporate purposes. As of December 31, 2018, no amounts have been borrowed under the Revolving Credit Agreement.

The borrowings under the Revolving Credit Agreement bear interest, at the Company’s option, of either (i) a floating rate equal to a base rate (the “Alternate Base Rate”) or (ii) a rate equal to an adjusted London interbank offered rate (the “Adjusted LIBO Rate”), plus a margin of 0.75%. The Alternate Base Rate is defined as the greatest of (A) the rate of interest published by the Wall Street Journal, from time to time, as the prime rate, (B) the federal funds rate, plus 0.500% and (C) the Adjusted LIBO Rate for a one-month interest period, plus 1.00%. The Adjusted LIBO Rate is defined as the London interbank offered rate for deposits in U.S. dollars, for the relevant interest period, adjusted for statutory reserve requirements, but in no event shall the Adjusted LIBO Rate be less than 0.00% per annum.

The Company is also obligated to pay a commitment fee on the undrawn amounts of the Revolving Credit Agreement at a rate of 0.10%. The Revolving Credit Agreement requires the Company to comply with certain covenants, including covenants that limit or restrict the ability of the Company’s subsidiaries to incur debt and limit or restrict the ability of the Company and its subsidiaries to grant liens and enter into sale and leaseback transactions; and, in the case of the Company or a guarantor, merge, consolidate, liquidate, dissolve or sell, transfer, lease or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole. As of December 31, 2018, the Company was in compliance with all related covenants.

Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

Streaming Content

At December 31, 2018, the Company had $19.3 billion of obligations comprised of $4.7 billion included in "Current content liabilities" and $3.8 billion of "Non-current content liabilities" on the Consolidated Balance Sheets and $10.8 billion of obligations that are not reflected on the Consolidated Balance Sheets as they did not yet meet the criteria for asset recognition.

At December 31, 2017, the Company had $17.7 billion of obligations comprised of $4.2 billion included in "Current content liabilities" and $3.3 billion of "Non-current content liabilities" on the Consolidated Balance Sheets and $10.2 billion of obligations that are not reflected on the Consolidated Balance Sheets as they did not yet meet the criteria for asset recognition.

The expected timing of payments for these streaming content obligations is as follows:



	As of December 31,
	2018		2017
	(in thousands)
Less than one year	$	8,611,398	$	7,446,947
Due after one year and through 3 years	8,841,561		8,210,159
Due after 3 years and through 5 years	1,684,582		1,894,001
Due after 5 years	148,334		143,535
Total streaming content obligations	$	19,285,875	$	17,694,642

Content obligations include amounts related to the acquisition, licensing and production of streaming content. Obligations that are in non-U.S. dollar currencies are translated to the U.S. dollar at period end rates. An obligation for the production of content includes non-cancelable commitments under creative talent and employment agreements as well as other production related commitments. An obligation for the acquisition and licensing of content is incurred at the time the Company enters into an agreement to obtain future titles. Once a title becomes available, a content liability is recorded on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Certain agreements include the obligation to license rights for unknown future titles, the ultimate quantity and/or fees for which are not yet determinable as of the reporting date. Traditional film output deals, or certain TV series license agreements where the number of seasons to be aired is unknown, are examples of such license agreements. The Company does not include any estimated obligation for these future titles beyond the known minimum amount. However, the unknown obligations are expected to be significant.

Lease obligations

The Company leases facilities under non-cancelable operating leases with various expiration dates through 2034. Several lease agreements contain rent escalation clauses or rent holidays. For purposes of recognizing minimum rental expenses on a straight-line basis over the terms of the leases, the Company uses the date of initial possession to begin amortization, which is generally when the Company enters the space and begins to make improvements in preparation for intended use. For scheduled rent escalation clauses during the lease terms or for rental payments commencing at a date other than the date of initial occupancy, the Company records minimum rental expenses on a straight-line basis over the terms of the leases in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. The Company has the option to extend or renew most of its leases which may increase the future minimum lease commitments.

Because the terms of the Company’s facilities lease agreements for its original Los Gatos, California headquarters site required the Company’s involvement in the construction funding of the buildings, the Company is the “deemed owner” (for accounting purposes only) of these buildings. Accordingly, the Company recorded an asset of $41 million, representing the total costs of the buildings and improvements, including the costs paid by the lessor (the legal owner of the buildings), with corresponding liabilities. Upon completion of construction of each building, the Company did not meet the sale-leaseback criteria for de-recognition of the building assets and liabilities. Therefore the leases are accounted for as financing obligations. At December 31, 2018, the lease financing obligation balance was $28 million, the majority of which is recorded in “Other non-current liabilities,” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The remaining future minimum payments under the lease financing obligation are $11 million. The lease financing obligation balance at the end of the lease term will be approximately $22 million which approximates the net book value of the buildings to be relinquished to the lessor.

In addition to the lease financing obligation, future minimum lease payments include $1,157 million as of December 31, 2018 related to non-cancelable operating leases for the expanded headquarters in Los Gatos, California and the office space in Los Angeles, California.

Future minimum payments under lease financing obligations and non-cancelable operating leases as of December 31, 2018 are as follows:



Year Ending December 31,	Future Minimum Payments
	(in thousands)
2019	$	172,470
2020	139,366
2021	145,175
2022	156,527
2023	151,200
Thereafter	943,630
Total minimum payments	$	1,708,368

Rent expense associated with the operating leases was $107 million, $75 million and $53 million for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Legal Proceedings

From time to time, in the normal course of its operations, the Company is subject to litigation matters and claims, including claims relating to employee relations, business practices and patent infringement. Litigation can be expensive and disruptive to normal business operations. Moreover, the results of complex legal proceedings are difficult to predict and the Company's view of these matters may change in the future as the litigation and events related thereto unfold. The Company expenses legal fees as incurred. The Company records a provision for contingent losses when it is both probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. An unfavorable outcome to any legal matter, if material, could have an adverse effect on the Company's operations or its financial position, liquidity or results of operations.

The Company is involved in litigation matters not listed herein but does not consider the matters to be material either individually or in the aggregate at this time. The Company's view of the matters not listed may change in the future as the litigation and events related thereto unfold.

Guarantees—Indemnification Obligations	12 Months Ended
Guarantees—Indemnification Obligations	Dec. 31, 2018
Guarantees [Abstract]
Guarantees—Indemnification Obligations	Guarantees—Indemnification Obligations In the ordinary course of business, the Company has entered into contractual arrangements under which it has agreed to provide indemnification of varying scope and terms to business partners and other parties with respect to certain matters, including, but not limited to, losses arising out of the Company’s breach of such agreements and out of intellectual property infringement claims made by third parties. In these circumstances, payment may be conditional on the other party making a claim pursuant to the procedures specified in the particular contract. The Company’s obligations under these agreements may be limited in terms of time or amount, and in some instances, the Company may have recourse against third parties for certain payments. In addition, the Company has entered into indemnification agreements with its directors and certain of its officers that will require it, among other things, to indemnify them against certain liabilities that may arise by reason of their status or service as directors or officers. The terms of such obligations vary. It is not possible to make a reasonable estimate of the maximum potential amount of future payments under these or similar agreements due to the conditional nature of the Company’s obligations and the unique facts and circumstances involved in each particular agreement. No amount has been accrued in the accompanying consolidated financial statements with respect to these indemnification guarantees.

Stockholders' Equity

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]

Stockholders' Equity

Stockholders’ Equity

Preferred Stock

The Company has authorized 10,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock with a par value of $0.001 per share. None of the preferred shares were issued and outstanding at December 31, 2018 and 2017.

Voting Rights

The holders of each share of common stock shall be entitled to one vote per share on all matters to be voted upon by the Company’s stockholders.

Stock Option Plans

In June 2011, the Company adopted the 2011 Stock Plan. The 2011 Stock Plan provides for the grant of incentive stock options to employees and for the grant of non-statutory stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock and restricted stock units to employees, directors and consultants. As of December 31, 2018, approximately 8.7 million shares were reserved for future grants under the 2011 Stock Plan.

A summary of the activities related to the Company’s stock option plans is as follows:



	Shares Available for Grant		Options Outstanding				Weighted- Average Remaining Contractual Term (in Years)	Aggregate Intrinsic Value (in Thousands)
	Shares Available for Grant		Number of Shares		Weighted- Average Exercise Price (per Share)		Weighted- Average Remaining Contractual Term (in Years)	Aggregate Intrinsic Value (in Thousands)
Balances as of December 31, 2015	16,845,316		20,995,756		$	32.39
Granted	(3,555,363	)	3,555,363		102.03
Exercised	—		(2,113,772	)	17.48
Balances as of December 31, 2016	13,289,953		22,437,347		$	44.83
Granted	(2,550,038	)	2,550,038		159.56
Exercised	—		(3,338,474	)	26.79
Expired	—		(1,561	)	$	3.25
Balances as of December 31, 2017	10,739,915		21,647,350		$	61.13
Granted	(2,039,974	)	2,039,974		311.66
Exercised	—		(3,205,911	)	38.66
Expired	—		(2,135	)	4.60
Balances as of December 31, 2018	8,699,941		20,479,278		$	89.61	5.71	$	3,748,339
Vested and exercisable at December 31, 2018			20,479,278		$	89.61	5.71	$	3,748,339

The aggregate intrinsic value in the table above represents the total pretax intrinsic value (the difference between the Company’s closing stock price on the last trading day of 2018 and the exercise price, multiplied by the number of in-the-money options) that would have been received by the option holders had all option holders exercised their options on the last trading day of 2018. This amount changes based on the fair market value of the Company’s common stock. Total intrinsic value of options exercised for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016 was $863 million, $464 million and $189 million, respectively.

Cash received from option exercises for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016 was $125 million, $88 million and $37 million, respectively.

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock options granted are exercisable for the full ten year contractual term regardless of employment status. The following table summarizes the assumptions used to value option grants using the lattice-binomial model and the valuation data:



	Year Ended December 31,
	2018			2017			2016
Dividend yield	—		%	—		%	—		%
Expected volatility	40% - 42%			34% - 37%			40% - 50%
Risk-free interest rate	2.61% - 3.09%			2.24% - 2.45%			1.57% - 2.04%
Suboptimal exercise factor	2.80 - 3.01			2.48 - 2.63			2.48
Valuation data:
Weighted-average fair value (per share)	$	157.19		$	71.45		$	48.85
Total stock-based compensation expense (in thousands)	320,657			182,209			173,675
Total income tax impact on provision (in thousands)	67,575			61,842			65,173

The Company considers several factors in determining the suboptimal exercise factor, including the historical and estimated option exercise behavior.

The Company calculates expected volatility based solely on implied volatility. The Company believes that implied volatility of publicly traded options in its common stock is more reflective of market conditions, and given consistently high trade volumes of the options, can reasonably be expected to be a better indicator of expected volatility than historical volatility of its common stock.

In valuing shares issued under the Company’s employee stock option plans, the Company bases the risk-free interest rate on U.S. Treasury zero-coupon issues with terms similar to the contractual term of the options. The Company does not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future and therefore uses an expected dividend yield of zero in the option valuation model. The Company does not use a post-vesting termination rate as options are fully vested upon grant date.

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Equity [Abstract]

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss

The following table summarizes the changes in accumulated balances of other comprehensive loss, net of tax:



	Foreign currency			Change in unrealized gains on available-for-sale securities			Total
	(in thousands)
Balances as of December 31, 2016	$	(47,966	)	$	(599	)	$	(48,565	)
Other comprehensive income before reclassifications	27,409			728			28,137
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income	—			(129		)	(129		)
Net decrease in other comprehensive loss	27,409			599			28,008
Balances as of December 31, 2017	$	(20,557	)	$	—		$	(20,557	)
Other comprehensive income before reclassifications	975			—			975
Net decrease in other comprehensive loss	975			—			975
Balances as of December 31, 2018	$	(19,582	)	$	—		$	(19,582	)

Income Taxes

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

Income before provision for income taxes was as follows:



	Year Ended December 31,
	2018		2017		2016
	(in thousands)
United States	$	845,402	$	144,100	$	188,078
Foreign	381,056		341,221		72,429
Income before income taxes	$	1,226,458	$	485,321	$	260,507

The components of provision for (benefit from) income taxes for all periods presented were as follows:



	Year Ended December 31,
	2018			2017			2016
	(in thousands)
Current tax provision:
Federal	$	(22,176	)	$	54,245		$	54,315
State	(10,234		)	(7,601		)	5,790
Foreign	133,146			88,436			60,571
Total current	100,736			135,080			120,676
Deferred tax provision:
Federal	(37,396		)	(153,963		)	(24,383		)
State	(52,391		)	(52,695		)	(14,080		)
Foreign	4,267			(2,030		)	(8,384		)
Total deferred	(85,520		)	(208,688		)	(46,847		)
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes	$	15,216		$	(73,608	)	$	73,829

On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “Act”) was signed into law making significant changes to the Internal Revenue Code. Changes include, but are not limited to, a corporate tax rate decrease from 35% to 21% effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, the transition of U.S international taxation from a worldwide tax system to a territorial system, and a one-time transition tax on the mandatory deemed repatriation of cumulative foreign earnings as of December 31, 2017. In accordance with the Act, the Company recorded $79 million as additional income tax expense in the fourth quarter of 2017, the period in which the legislation was enacted. The total expense included $32 million related to the transition tax and $47 million related to the remeasurement of certain deferred tax assets and liabilities. Additionally, Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118 ("SAB 118") was issued to address the application of U.S. GAAP in situations when a registrant does not have the necessary information available, prepared, or analyzed (including computations) in reasonable detail to complete the accounting for certain income tax effects of the Act. December 22, 2018 marked the end of the measurement period for purposes of SAB 118. As such, the Company has completed the analysis based on legislative updates relating to the Act currently available which resulted in an additional SAB 118 tax benefit of $34 million in the fourth quarter of 2018 and a total tax benefit of $72 million for the year ended December 31, 2018. The total tax provision benefit included $45 million related to adjustments to the transition tax and a $27 million benefit related to the remeasurement of certain deferred tax assets and liabilities.

A reconciliation of the provision for income taxes, with the amount computed by applying the statutory Federal income tax rate to income before income taxes is as follows:



	Year Ended December 31,
	2018			2017			2016
	(in thousands)
Expected tax expense at U.S. Federal statutory rates	$	257,556		$	169,860		$	91,179
State income taxes, net of Federal income tax effect	33,611			6,404			7,261
Foreign earnings at other than U.S. rates	63,519			(87,514		)	14,639
Federal and California R&D tax credits	(140,749		)	(79,868		)	(41,144		)
Excess tax benefits on stock-based compensation	(191,323		)	(157,888		)	—
Impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017
Rate Change / Transition Tax	(71,516		)	79,077			—
U.S. Minimum Tax on Foreign Entities	43,099			—			—
Nondeductible Officers Compensation	14,377			28			28
Other	6,642			(3,707		)	1,866
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes	$	15,216		$	(73,608	)	$	73,829
Effective Tax Rate	1		%	(15		)%	28		%

The components of deferred tax assets and liabilities were as follows:



	As of December 31,
	2018			2017
	(in thousands)
Deferred tax assets:
Stock-based compensation	$	190,451		$	149,367
Depreciation and amortization	(151,678		)	(70,382		)
Federal and California tax R&D credits	369,023			260,686
Foreign tax credits	218,026			102,242
Accruals and reserves	36,396			34,170
Other	27,203			51,614
Gross deferred tax assets	689,421			527,697
Valuation allowance	(124,996		)	(49,431		)
Net deferred tax assets	$	564,425		$	478,266

All deferred tax assets are classified as “Other non-current assets” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017. In evaluating its ability to realize the net deferred tax assets, the Company considered all available positive and negative evidence, including its past operating results and the forecast of future market growth, forecasted earnings, future taxable income, and prudent and feasible tax planning strategies. As of December 31, 2018, the valuation allowance of $125 million was primarily related to certain foreign tax credits that are not likely to be realized.

As of December 31, 2018, the Company's Federal R&D tax credit and state tax credit carryforwards for tax return purposes were $248 million, and $193 million, respectively. The Federal R&D tax credit carryforwards expire through 2038. State tax credit carryforwards can be carried forward indefinitely.

As of December 31, 2018, the Company's foreign tax credit carryforwards for tax return purposes were $99 million. The Federal foreign tax credit carryovers expire through 2028.

The unrecognized tax benefits that are not expected to result in payment or receipt of cash within one year are classified as “Other non-current liabilities” and a reduction of deferred tax assets which is classified as "Other non-current assets" in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. As of December 31, 2018, the total amount of gross unrecognized tax benefits was $48 million, of which $44 million, if recognized, would favorably impact the Company’s effective tax rate. As of December 31, 2017, the total amount of gross unrecognized tax benefits was $43 million, of which $38 million, if recognized, would favorably impact the Company’s effective tax rate. The aggregate changes in the Company’s total gross amount of unrecognized tax benefits are summarized as follows (in thousands):



Balances as of December 31, 2016	$	19,739
Decreases related to tax positions taken during prior periods	(3,226		)
Increases related to tax positions taken during the current period	26,389
Balances as of December 31, 2017	42,902
Increases related to tax positions taken during prior periods	4,486
Decreases related to tax positions taken during prior periods	(17,922		)
Increases related to tax positions taken during the current period	18,068
Balances as of December 31, 2018	$	47,534

The Company includes interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits within the provision for income taxes and in “Other non-current liabilities” in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Interest and penalties included in the Company's provision for income taxes were not material in all the periods presented.

The Company files U.S. Federal, state and foreign tax returns. In August 2018, the Company reached a favorable settlement with the IRS for tax years 2014 & 2015 and recorded a discrete tax benefit of $7 million in the third quarter of 2018. The Company is currently under examination by the IRS for the years 2016 and 2017 and the state of California for the years 2014 and 2015. The 2009 through 2017 state tax returns are subject to examination by state tax authorities. The Company is also currently under examination in the UK for 2015 and 2016. The Company has no other significant foreign jurisdiction audits underway. The years 2013 through 2017 remain subject to examination by foreign tax authorities.

Given the potential outcome of the current examinations as well as the impact of the current examinations on the potential expiration of the statute of limitations, it is reasonably possible that the balance of unrecognized tax benefits could significantly change within the next twelve months. However, an estimate of the range of reasonably possible adjustments cannot be made at this time.

Employee Benefit Plan	12 Months Ended
Employee Benefit Plan	Dec. 31, 2018
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]
Employee Benefit Plan	Employee Benefit Plan The Company maintains a 401(k) savings plan covering substantially all of its employees. Eligible employees may contribute up to 80% of their annual salary through payroll deductions, but not more than the statutory limits set by the Internal Revenue Service. The Company matches employee contributions at the discretion of the Board. During 2018, 2017 and 2016, the Company’s matching contributions totaled $27 million, $20 million and $16 million, respectively.

Segment Information

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Segment Information

The Company has three reportable segments: Domestic streaming, International streaming and Domestic DVD. Segment information is presented in the same manner that the Company’s chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) reviews the operating results in assessing performance and allocating resources. The Company’s CODM reviews revenue and contribution profit (loss) for each of the reportable segments. Contribution profit (loss) is defined as revenues less cost of revenues and marketing expenses incurred by the segment. The Company has aggregated the results of the International operating segments into one reportable segment because these operating segments share similar long-term economic and other qualitative characteristics. As markets within the Company's International streaming segment become profitable, the CODM increasingly focuses on the Company's global operating margin as a measure of profitability.

The Domestic streaming segment derives revenues from monthly membership fees for services related to streaming content to the members in the United States. The International streaming segment derives revenues from monthly membership fees for services related to streaming content to members outside of the United States. The Domestic DVD segment derives revenues from monthly membership fees for services consisting solely of DVD-by-mail. Revenues and the related payment processing fees are attributed to the operating segment based on the nature of the underlying membership (streaming or DVD) and the geographic region from which the membership originates. There are no internal revenue transactions between the Company’s segments.

Amortization of streaming content assets makes up the majority of cost of revenues. The Company obtains multi-territory or global rights for its streaming content and allocates these rights between Domestic and International streaming segments based on estimated fair market value. Amortization of content assets and other expenses associated with the acquisition, licensing, and production of streaming content for each streaming segment thus includes both expenses directly incurred by the segment as well as an allocation of expenses incurred for global or multi-territory rights. Other costs of revenues such as delivery costs are either attributed to the operating segment based on amounts directly incurred by the segment or are allocated across segments by management. Marketing expenses consist primarily of advertising expenses and certain payments made to marketing partners, including CE manufacturers, MVPDs, mobile operators and ISPs, which are generally included in the segment in which the expenditures are directly incurred.

The Company's long-lived tangible assets were located as follows:



	As of December 31,
	2018		2017
	(in thousands)
United States	$	381,947	$	289,875
International	36,334		29,529

The following tables represent segment information for the year ended December 31, 2018:



	As of/Year ended December 31, 2018
	Domestic Streaming		International Streaming		Domestic DVD			Consolidated
	(in thousands)
Total paid memberships at end of period (1)	58,486		80,773		2,706
Total paid net membership additions (1)	5,676		22,939		(624		)
Total free trials at end of period	2,065		7,131		25
Revenues	$	7,646,647	$	7,782,105	$	365,589		$	15,794,341
Cost of revenues	4,038,394		5,776,047		153,097			9,967,538
Marketing	1,025,351		1,344,118		—			2,369,469
Contribution profit	$	2,582,902	$	661,940	$	212,492		3,457,334
Other operating expenses								1,852,108
Operating income								1,605,226
Other income (expense)								(378,768		)
Provision for income taxes								15,216
Net income								$	1,211,242



	Year Ended December 31, 2018
	Domestic Streaming		International Streaming		Domestic DVD		Consolidated
	(in thousands)
Amortization of content assets	$	3,115,170	$	4,416,918	$	41,212	$	7,573,300

The following tables represent segment information for the year ended December 31, 2017.



	As of/Year ended December 31, 2017
	Domestic Streaming		International Streaming			Domestic DVD			Consolidated
	(in thousands)
Total paid memberships at end of period (1)	52,810		57,834			3,330
Total paid net membership additions (1)	4,905		16,649			(699		)
Total free trials at end of period	1,940		4,998			53
Revenues	$	6,153,025	$	5,089,191		$	450,497		$	11,692,713
Cost of revenues	3,470,859		4,359,616			202,525			8,033,000
Marketing	603,746		832,535			—			1,436,281
Contribution profit (loss)	$	2,078,420	$	(102,960	)	$	247,972		2,223,432
Other operating expenses									1,384,753
Operating income									838,679
Other income (expense)									(353,358		)
Benefit from income taxes									(73,608		)
Net income									$	558,929



	Year Ended December 31, 2017
	Domestic Streaming		International Streaming		Domestic DVD		Consolidated
	(in thousands)
Amortization of content assets	$	2,756,947	$	3,440,870	$	60,657	$	6,258,474

The following tables represent segment information for the year ended December 31, 2016.



	As of/Year ended December 31, 2016
	Domestic Streaming		International Streaming			Domestic DVD			Consolidated
	(in thousands)
Total paid memberships at end of period (1)	47,905		41,185			4,029
Total paid net membership additions (1)	4,504		13,747			(758		)
Total free trials at end of period	1,526		3,180			85
Revenues	$	5,077,307	$	3,211,095		$	542,267		$	8,830,669
Cost of revenues	2,951,973		3,042,747			262,742			6,257,462
Marketing	412,928		684,591			—			1,097,519
Contribution profit (loss)	$	1,712,406	$	(516,243	)	$	279,525		1,475,688
Other operating expenses									1,095,895
Operating income									379,793
Other income (expense)									(119,286		)
Provision for income taxes									73,829
Net income									$	186,678



	Year Ended December 31, 2016
	Domestic Streaming		International Streaming		Domestic DVD		Consolidated
	(in thousands)
Amortization of content assets	$	2,337,950	$	2,450,548	$	78,952	$	4,867,450



(1)	A paid membership (also referred to as a paid subscription) is defined as a membership that has the right to receive Netflix service following sign-up and a method of payment being provided, and that is not part of a free trial or other promotional offering by the Company to certain new and rejoining members. A membership is canceled and ceases to be reflected in the above metrics as of the effective cancellation date. Voluntary cancellations generally become effective at the end of the prepaid membership period. Involuntary cancellation of the service, as a result of a failed method of payment, becomes effective immediately. Memberships are assigned to territories based on the geographic location used at time of sign-up as determined by the Company’s internal systems, which utilize industry standard geo-location technology.

Reclassification

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Accounting Changes and Error Corrections [Abstract]

Reclassification

The Company reclassified certain streaming personnel related expenses on its Consolidated Statement of Operations effective for the fourth quarter of 2018. Specifically, expenses for personnel that support global content and marketing that were previously classified in General and administrative expenses were reclassified to Cost of revenues and Marketing, respectively. In addition, expenses for personnel that support global streaming delivery that were previously classified in Technology and development were also reclassified to Cost of revenues. The Company is making this change in classification in order to reflect how the nature of the work performed by certain personnel has changed to be more directly related to the development, marketing and delivery of our service as a result of the continued evolution of the Company’s strategy to self-produce and create more of its own content rather than license or procure it from third parties. This change in classification will also align external presentation of personnel related expenses with the way that the Company's chief operating decision maker expects to assess profitability and make resource allocation decisions going forward. The Company has reclassified these personnel related expenses for all prior periods in order to present comparable financial results. There is no change to consolidated operating income, net income or cash flows or DVD segment results as a result of this change in classification.

The revised Consolidated Statements of Operations as well as segment results for the three month periods ended March 31, 2016, 2017 and 2018, June 30, 2016, 2017 and 2018, September 30, 2016, 2017 and 2018 and December 31, 2016 and 2017 and for the twelve month periods ended December 31, 2016 and 2017 are as follows:



	Three Months Ended (unaudited)												Twelve Months Ended
	March 31, 2016			June 30, 2016			September 30, 2016			December 31, 2016			December 31, 2016
	(in thousands)
As Previously Reported
Revenues	$	1,957,736		$	2,105,204		$	2,290,188		$	2,477,541		$	8,830,669
Cost of revenues	1,369,540			1,473,098			1,532,844			1,654,419			6,029,901
Marketing	208,010			216,029			282,043			284,996			991,078
Technology and development	203,508			207,300			216,099			225,191			852,098
General and administrative	127,225			138,407			153,166			159,001			577,799
Operating income	$	49,453		$	70,370		$	106,036		$	153,934		$	379,793

Reclassifications
Revenues	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—
Cost of revenues	49,041			52,299			60,924			65,297			227,561
Marketing	23,455			24,561			28,974			29,451			106,441
Technology and development	(16,898		)	(17,096		)	(18,593		)	(19,279		)	(71,866		)
General and administrative	(55,598		)	(59,764		)	(71,305		)	(75,469		)	(262,136		)
Operating income	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—

As Revised
Revenues	$	1,957,736		$	2,105,204		$	2,290,188		$	2,477,541		$	8,830,669
Cost of revenues	1,418,581			1,525,397			1,593,768			1,719,716			6,257,462
Marketing	231,465			240,590			311,017			314,447			1,097,519
Technology and development	186,610			190,204			197,506			205,912			780,232
General and administrative	71,627			78,643			81,861			83,532			315,663
Operating income	$	49,453		$	70,370		$	106,036		$	153,934		$	379,793



	Three Months Ended (unaudited)												Twelve Months Ended
	March 31, 2017			June 30, 2017			September 30, 2017			December 31, 2017			December 31, 2017
	(in thousands)
As Previously Reported
Revenues	$	2,636,635		$	2,785,464		$	2,984,859		$	3,285,755		$	11,692,713
Cost of revenues	1,657,024			1,902,308			1,992,980			2,107,354			7,659,666
Marketing	271,270			274,323			312,490			419,939			1,278,022
Technology and development	257,108			267,083			255,236			273,351			1,052,778
General and administrative	194,291			213,943			215,526			239,808			863,568
Operating income	$	256,942		$	127,807		$	208,627		$	245,303		$	838,679

Reclassifications
Revenues	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—
Cost of revenues	83,707			89,388			93,259			106,980			373,334
Marketing	34,878			36,837			39,956			46,588			158,259
Technology and development	(23,237		)	(24,599		)	(25,013		)	(26,219		)	(99,068		)
General and administrative	(95,348		)	(101,626		)	(108,202		)	(127,349		)	(432,525		)
Operating income	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—

As Revised
Revenues	$	2,636,635		$	2,785,464		$	2,984,859		$	3,285,755		$	11,692,713
Cost of revenues	1,740,731			1,991,696			2,086,239			2,214,334			8,033,000
Marketing	306,148			311,160			352,446			466,527			1,436,281
Technology and development	233,871			242,484			230,223			247,132			953,710
General and administrative	98,943			112,317			107,324			112,459			431,043
Operating income	$	256,942		$	127,807		$	208,627		$	245,303		$	838,679



	Three Months Ended (unaudited)
	March 31, 2018			June 30, 2018			September 30, 2018
	(in thousands)
As Previously Reported
Revenues	$	3,700,856		$	3,907,270		$	3,999,374
Cost of revenues	2,196,075			2,289,867			2,412,346
Marketing	479,222			526,780			435,269
Technology and development	300,730			317,213			327,026
General and administrative	278,251			311,197			344,065
Operating income	$	446,578		$	462,213		$	480,668

Reclassifications
Revenues	$	—		$	—		$	—
Cost of revenues	104,504			112,564			118,782
Marketing	57,555			65,227			75,061
Technology and development	(18,420		)	(18,118		)	(18,406		)
General and administrative	(143,639		)	(159,673		)	(175,437		)
Operating income	$	—		$	—		$	—

As Revised
Revenues	$	3,700,856		$	3,907,270		$	3,999,374
Cost of revenues	2,300,579			2,402,431			2,531,128
Marketing	536,777			592,007			510,330
Technology and development	282,310			299,095			308,620
General and administrative	134,612			151,524			168,628
Operating income	$	446,578		$	462,213		$	480,668

The following tables represent the reclassification of costs for the quarterly domestic streaming segment results for 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively:



	Three Months Ended												Twelve Months Ended
	March 31, 2016			June 30, 2016			September 30, 2016			December 31, 2016			December 31, 2016
	(unaudited) (in thousands)
As Previously Reported
Revenues	$	1,161,241		$	1,208,271		$	1,304,333		$	1,403,462		$	5,077,307
Cost of revenues	666,546			707,106			720,658			761,479			2,855,789
Marketing	81,942			86,806			108,495			105,589			382,832
Contribution profit	$	412,753		$	414,359		$	475,180		$	536,394		$	1,838,686
Contribution margin	35.5		%	34.3		%	36.4		%	38.2		%	36.2		%

Reclassifications
Revenues	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—
Cost of revenues	21,210			22,293			25,562			27,119			96,184
Marketing	6,632			6,945			8,192			8,327			30,096
Contribution profit	$	(27,842	)	$	(29,238	)	$	(33,754	)	$	(35,446	)	$	(126,280	)

As Revised
Revenues	$	1,161,241		$	1,208,271		$	1,304,333		$	1,403,462		$	5,077,307
Cost of revenues	687,756			729,399			746,220			788,598			2,951,973
Marketing	88,574			93,751			116,687			113,916			412,928
Contribution profit	$	384,911		$	385,121		$	441,426		$	500,948		$	1,712,406
Contribution margin	33.1		%	31.9		%	33.8		%	35.7		%	33.7		%



	Three Months Ended												Twelve Months Ended
	March 31, 2017			June 30, 2017			September 30, 2017			December 31, 2017			December 31, 2017
	(unaudited) (in thousands)
As Previously Reported
Revenues	$	1,470,042		$	1,505,499		$	1,547,210		$	1,630,274		$	6,153,025
Cost of revenues	749,488			831,962			864,408			873,372			3,319,230
Marketing	115,038			113,608			128,901			195,784			553,331
Contribution profit	$	605,516		$	559,929		$	553,901		$	561,118		$	2,280,464
Contribution margin	41.2		%	37.2		%	35.8		%	34.4		%	37.1		%

Reclassifications
Revenues	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—
Cost of revenues	34,466			36,568			37,867			42,728			151,629
Marketing	11,215			11,295			12,632			15,273			50,415
Contribution profit	$	(45,681	)	$	(47,863	)	$	(50,499	)	$	(58,001	)	$	(202,044	)

As Revised
Revenues	$	1,470,042		$	1,505,499		$	1,547,210		$	1,630,274		$	6,153,025
Cost of revenues	783,954			868,530			902,275			916,100			3,470,859
Marketing	126,253			124,903			141,533			211,057			603,746
Contribution profit	$	559,835		$	512,066		$	503,402		$	503,117		$	2,078,420
Contribution margin	38.1		%	34.0		%	32.5		%	30.9		%	33.8		%



	Three Months Ended
	March 31, 2018			June 30, 2018			September 30, 2018
	(unaudited) (in thousands)
As Previously Reported
Revenues	$	1,820,019		$	1,893,222		$	1,937,314
Cost of revenues	894,873			925,703			991,823
Marketing	228,022			227,961			183,521
Contribution profit	$	697,124		$	739,558		$	761,970
Contribution margin	38.3		%	39.1		%	39.3		%

Reclassifications
Revenues	$	—		$	—		$	—
Cost of revenues	41,607			44,292			46,650
Marketing	22,697			23,337			27,074
Contribution profit	$	(64,304	)	$	(67,629	)	$	(73,724	)

As Revised
Revenues	$	1,820,019		$	1,893,222		$	1,937,314
Cost of revenues	936,480			969,995			1,038,473
Marketing	250,719			251,298			210,595
Contribution profit	$	632,820		$	671,929		$	688,246
Contribution margin	34.8		%	35.5		%	35.5		%

The following tables represent the reclassification of costs for the quarterly international streaming segment results for 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively:



	Three Months Ended												Twelve Months Ended
	March 31, 2016			June 30, 2016			September 30, 2016			December 31, 2016			December 31, 2016
	(unaudited) (in thousands)
As Previously Reported
Revenues	$	651,748		$	758,201		$	853,480		$	947,666		$	3,211,095
Cost of revenues	629,899			698,162			748,515			834,794			2,911,370
Marketing	126,068			129,223			173,548			179,407			608,246
Contribution profit (loss)	$	(104,219	)	$	(69,184	)	$	(68,583	)	$	(66,535	)	$	(308,521	)
Contribution margin	(16.0		)%	(9.1		)%	(8.0		)%	(7.0		)%	(9.6		)%

Reclassifications
Revenues	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—
Cost of revenues	27,831			30,006			35,362			38,178			131,377
Marketing	16,823			17,616			20,782			21,124			76,345
Contribution profit (loss)	$	(44,654	)	$	(47,622	)	$	(56,144	)	$	(59,302	)	$	(207,722	)

As Revised
Revenues	$	651,748		$	758,201		$	853,480		$	947,666		$	3,211,095
Cost of revenues	657,730			728,168			783,877			872,972			3,042,747
Marketing	142,891			146,839			194,330			200,531			684,591
Contribution profit (loss)	$	(148,873	)	$	(116,806	)	$	(124,727	)	$	(125,837	)	$	(516,243	)
Contribution margin	(22.8		)%	(15.4		)%	(14.6		)%	(13.3		)%	(16.1		)%



	Three Months Ended												Twelve Months Ended
	March 31, 2017			June 30, 2017			September 30, 2017			December 31, 2017			December 31, 2017
	(unaudited) (in thousands)
As Previously Reported
Revenues	$	1,046,199		$	1,165,228		$	1,327,435		$	1,550,329		$	5,089,191
Cost of revenues	847,317			1,017,612			1,081,485			1,191,497			4,137,911
Marketing	156,232			160,715			183,589			224,155			724,691
Contribution profit (loss)	$	42,650		$	(13,099	)	$	62,361		$	134,677		$	226,589
Contribution margin	4.1		%	(1.1		)%	4.7		%	8.7		%	4.5		%

Reclassifications
Revenues	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—
Cost of revenues	49,241			52,820			55,392			64,252			221,705
Marketing	23,663			25,542			27,324			31,315			107,844
Contribution profit (loss)	$	(72,904	)	$	(78,362	)	$	(82,716	)	$	(95,567	)	$	(329,549	)

As Revised
Revenues	$	1,046,199		$	1,165,228		$	1,327,435		$	1,550,329		$	5,089,191
Cost of revenues	896,558			1,070,432			1,136,877			1,255,749			4,359,616
Marketing	179,895			186,257			210,913			255,470			832,535
Contribution profit (loss)	$	(30,254	)	$	(91,461	)	$	(20,355	)	$	39,110		$	(102,960	)
Contribution margin	(2.9		)%	(7.8		)%	(1.5		)%	2.5		%	(2.0		)%



	Three Months Ended
	March 31, 2018			June 30, 2018			September 30, 2018
	(unaudited) (in thousands)
As Previously Reported
Revenues	$	1,782,086		$	1,921,144		$	1,973,283
Cost of revenues	1,258,809			1,324,240			1,383,422
Marketing	251,200			298,819			251,748
Contribution profit	$	272,077		$	298,085		$	338,113
Contribution margin	15.3		%	15.5		%	17.1		%

Reclassifications
Revenues	$	—		$	—		$	—
Cost of revenues	62,897			68,272			72,132
Marketing	34,858			41,890			47,987
Contribution profit	$	(97,755	)	$	(110,162	)	$	(120,119	)

As Revised
Revenues	$	1,782,086		$	1,921,144		$	1,973,283
Cost of revenues	1,321,706			1,392,512			1,455,554
Marketing	286,058			340,709			299,735
Contribution profit	$	174,322		$	187,923		$	217,994
Contribution margin	9.8		%	9.8		%	11.0		%

Selected Quarterly Financial Data (Unaudited)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]

Selected Quarterly Financial Data (Unaudited)

The following selected quarterly financial data for the year ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 as reclassified. Refer to Note 12 for additional information on the headcount reclassification.



	December 31		September 30		June 30		March 31
	(in thousands, except for per share data)
2018
Total revenues	$	4,186,841	$	3,999,374	$	3,907,270	$	3,700,856
Gross profit	1,453,441		1,468,246		1,504,839		1,400,277
Net income	133,934		402,835		384,349		290,124
Earnings per share:
Basic	$	0.31	$	0.92	$	0.88	$	0.67
Diluted	0.30		0.89		0.85		0.64
2017
Total revenues	$	3,285,755	$	2,984,859	$	2,785,464	$	2,636,635
Gross profit	1,071,421		898,620		793,768		895,904
Net income	185,517		129,590		65,600		178,222
Earnings per share:
Basic	$	0.43	$	0.30	$	0.15	$	0.41
Diluted	0.41		0.29		0.15		0.40

Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policy)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Use of Estimates	Use of Estimates The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Significant items subject to such estimates and assumptions include the streaming content asset amortization policy and the recognition and measurement of income tax assets and liabilities. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that the Company believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. On an ongoing basis, the Company evaluates these assumptions, judgments and estimates. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
Recently accounting pronouncements	Recently adopted accounting pronouncements In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) which amended the existing accounting standards for revenue recognition. ASU 2014-09 establishes principles for recognizing revenue upon the transfer of promised goods or services to customers, in an amount that reflects the expected consideration received in exchange for those goods or services. The Company adopted ASU 2014-09 in the first quarter of 2018 using the modified retrospective approach. Because the Company's primary source of revenues is from monthly membership fees which are recognized ratably over each monthly membership period, the impact on its consolidated financial statements is not material. In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-18, Restricted Cash, which requires amounts generally described as restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the total beginning and ending amounts for the periods shown on the statement of cash flows. The Company adopted ASU 2016-18 in the first quarter of 2018 and the impact on its consolidated financial statements is not material as the Company's restricted cash balances are immaterial. In January 2018, the FASB released guidance on the accounting for tax on the global intangible low-taxed income (“GILTI”) provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”). The GILTI provisions impose a tax on foreign income in excess of a deemed return on tangible assets of foreign corporations. In the first quarter of 2018, the Company elected to treat any potential GILTI inclusions as a period cost. In August 2018, the SEC adopted the final rule under SEC Release No. 33-10532, Disclosure Update and Simplification, amending certain disclosure requirements that were redundant, duplicative, overlapping, outdated or superseded. In addition, the amendments expanded the disclosure requirements on the analysis of stockholders' equity for interim financial statements. Under the amendments, an analysis of changes in each caption of stockholders' equity presented in the balance sheet must be provided in a note or separate statement. The analysis should present a reconciliation of the beginning balance to the ending balance of each period for which a statement of comprehensive income is required to be filed. This final rule was effective on November 5, 2018. The Company adopted the rule in the fourth quarter of 2018 and the impact on its consolidated financial statements was not material. Recently issued accounting pronouncements not yet adopted In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) in order to increase transparency and comparability among organizations by recognizing lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet for those leases classified as operating leases under current GAAP. ASU 2016-02 requires that a lessee should recognize a liability to make lease payments (the lease liability) and a right-of-use asset representing its right to use the underlying asset for the lease term on the balance sheet. ASU 2016-02 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018 (including interim periods within those periods) using a modified retrospective approach and early adoption is permitted. The Company will adopt ASU 2016-02 in the first quarter of 2019 utilizing the modified retrospective transition method through a cumulative-effect adjustment at the beginning of the first quarter of 2019. While the Company is continuing to assess the potential impacts of ASU 2016-02, the Company estimates that the adoption of ASU 2016-02 will result in the recognition of right-of-use assets and lease liabilities for operating leases of approximately $700 million on its Consolidated Balance Sheets, with no material impact to its Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	Cash Equivalents and Short-term Investments The Company considers investments in instruments purchased with an original maturity of 90 days or less to be cash equivalents. The Company also classifies amounts in transit from payment processors for customer credit card and debit card transactions as cash equivalents. In July 2017, the Company sold all short-term investments. The Company classified short-term investments, which consisted of marketable securities with original maturities in excess of 90 days as available-for-sale. Short-term investments were reported at fair value with unrealized gains and losses included in “Accumulated other comprehensive loss” within Stockholders’ equity in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The amortization of premiums and discounts on the investments, realized gains and losses, and declines in value judged to be other-than-temporary on available-for-sale securities are included in “Interest and other income (expense)” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. The Company used the specific identification method to determine cost in calculating realized gains and losses upon the sale of short-term investments. Short-term investments were reviewed periodically to identify possible other-than-temporary impairment. When evaluating the investments, the Company reviewed factors such as the length of time and extent to which fair value has been below cost basis, the financial condition of the issuer, the Company’s intent to sell, or whether it would be more likely than not that the Company would be required to sell the investments before the recovery of their amortized cost basis.
Streaming Content	Streaming Content The Company acquires, licenses and produces content, including original programming, in order to offer members unlimited viewing of TV series and films. The content licenses are for a fixed fee and specific windows of availability. Payment terms for certain content licenses and the production of content require more upfront cash payments relative to the amortization expense. Payments for content, including additions to streaming assets and the changes in related liabilities, are classified within "Net cash used in operating activities" on the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. For licenses, the Company capitalizes the fee per title and records a corresponding liability at the gross amount of the liability when the license period begins, the cost of the title is known and the title is accepted and available for streaming. The portion available for streaming within one year is recognized as “Current content assets, net” and the remaining portion as “Non-current content assets, net” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. For productions, the Company capitalizes costs associated with the production, including development costs, direct costs and production overhead. These amounts are included in "Non-current content assets, net" on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Participations and residuals are expensed in line with the amortization of production costs. Based on factors including historical and estimated viewing patterns, the Company amortizes the content assets (licensed and produced) in “Cost of revenues” on the Consolidated Statements of Operations over the shorter of each title's contractual window of availability or estimated period of use or 10 years, beginning with the month of first availability. The amortization is on an accelerated basis, as the Company typically expects more upfront viewing, for instance due to additional merchandising and marketing efforts, and film amortization is more accelerated than TV series amortization. The Company reviews factors impacting the amortization of the content assets on an ongoing basis. The Company's estimates related to these factors require considerable management judgment. The Company's business model is subscription based as opposed to a model generating revenues at a specific title level. Therefore, content assets, both licensed and produced, are reviewed in aggregate at the operating segment level when an event or change in circumstances indicates a change in the expected usefulness of the content asset. To date, the Company has not identified any such event or changes in circumstances. If such changes are identified in the future, these aggregated content assets will be stated at the lower of unamortized cost, net realizable value or fair value. In addition, unamortized costs for assets that have been, or are expected to be, abandoned are written off.
Property and Equipment	Property and Equipment Property and equipment are carried at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is calculated using the straight-line method over the shorter of the estimated useful lives of the respective assets, generally up to 30 years, or the expected lease term for leasehold improvements, if applicable. Leased buildings are capitalized and included in property and equipment when the Company was involved in the construction funding and did not meet the “sale-leaseback” criteria.
Revenue Recognition	Revenue Recognition The Company's primary source of revenues are from monthly membership fees. Members are billed in advance of the start of their monthly membership and revenues are recognized ratably over each monthly membership period. Revenues are presented net of the taxes that are collected from members and remitted to governmental authorities. Deferred revenue consists of membership fees billed that have not been recognized and gift and other prepaid memberships that have not been redeemed.
Marketing	Marketing Marketing expenses consist primarily of advertising expenses and certain payments made to the Company’s partners, including CE manufacturers, MVPDs, mobile operators and ISPs. Advertising expenses include promotional activities such as digital and television advertising. Advertising costs are expensed as incurred.
Research and Development	Research and Development Research and development expenses consist of payroll and related costs incurred in making improvements to our service offerings.
Income Taxes	Income Taxes The Company records a provision for income taxes for the anticipated tax consequences of the reported results of operations using the asset and liability method. Deferred income taxes are recognized by applying enacted statutory tax rates applicable to future years to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases as well as net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date. The measurement of deferred tax assets is reduced, if necessary, by a valuation allowance for any tax benefits for which future realization is uncertain. The Company did not recognize certain tax benefits from uncertain tax positions within the provision for income taxes. The Company may recognize a tax benefit only if it is more likely than not the tax position will be sustained on examination by the taxing authorities, based on the technical merits of the position. The tax benefits recognized in the financial statements from such positions are then measured based on the largest benefit that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon settlement. The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions in income tax expense.
Foreign Currency	Foreign Currency The functional currency for the Company's subsidiaries is determined based on the primary economic environment in which the subsidiary operates. The Company translates the assets and liabilities of its non-U.S. dollar functional currency subsidiaries into U.S. dollars using exchange rates in effect at the end of each period. Revenues and expenses for these subsidiaries are translated using rates that approximate those in effect during the period. Gains and losses from these translations are recognized in cumulative translation adjustment included in "Accumulated other comprehensive loss" in Stockholders’ equity on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company remeasures monetary assets and liabilities that are not denominated in the functional currency at exchange rates in effect at the end of each period. Gains and losses from these remeasurements are recognized in interest and other income (expense).
Earnings Per Share	Earnings Per Share Basic earnings per share is computed using the weighted-average number of outstanding shares of common stock during the period. Diluted earnings per share is computed using the weighted-average number of outstanding shares of common stock and, when dilutive, potential common shares outstanding during the period. Potential common shares consist of incremental shares issuable upon the assumed exercise of stock options.
Stock-Based Compensation	Stock-Based Compensation The Company grants fully vested non-qualified stock options to its employees on a monthly basis. As a result of immediate vesting, stock-based compensation expense is fully recognized on the grant date, and no estimate is required for post-vesting option forfeitures.

Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Computation of Net Income Per Share

The computation of earnings per share is as follows:



	Year ended December 31,
	2018		2017		2016
	(in thousands, except per share data)
Basic earnings per share:
Net income	$	1,211,242	$	558,929	$	186,678
Shares used in computation:
Weighted-average common shares outstanding	435,374		431,885		428,822
Basic earnings per share	$	2.78	$	1.29	$	0.44
Diluted earnings per share:
Net income	$	1,211,242	$	558,929	$	186,678
Shares used in computation:
Weighted-average common shares outstanding	435,374		431,885		428,822
Employee stock options	15,870		14,929		9,830
Weighted-average number of shares	451,244		446,814		438,652
Diluted earnings per share	$	2.68	$	1.25	$	0.43

Summary of Potential Common Shares Excluded from Diluted Calculation

The following table summarizes the potential common shares excluded from the diluted calculation:



	Year ended December 31,
	2018	2017	2016
	(in thousands)
Employee stock options	330	189	1,545

Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Short-Term Investments And Fair Value Measurement [Abstract]

Schedule of Cash and Cash Equivalents

The following table summarizes the Company's cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash as of December 31, 2018 and 2017:



	As of December 31, 2018
	Cash and cash equivalents		Non-current Assets		Total
	(in thousands)
Cash	$	2,572,685	$	16,260	$	2,588,945
Level 1 securities:
Money market funds	1,221,798		1,298		1,223,096

	$	3,794,483	$	17,558	$	3,812,041



	As of December 31, 2017
	Cash and cash equivalents		Non-current Assets		Total
	(in thousands)
Cash	$	2,072,296	$	4,367	$	2,076,663
Level 1 securities:
Money market funds	449,734		1,276		451,010
Level 2 securities:
Time Deposits	300,765		—		300,765

	$	2,822,795	$	5,643	$	2,828,438

Balance Sheet Components (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Balance Sheet Components Disclosure [Abstract]

Components of Content Library

Content assets consisted of the following:



	As of December 31,
	2018		2017
	(in thousands)

Licensed content, net	$	14,081,463	$	11,771,778
Produced content, net
Released, less amortization	2,403,896		1,427,256
In production	3,305,126		1,311,137
In development and pre-production	311,842		158,517
	6,020,864		2,896,910
DVD, net	9,813		13,301
Total	$	20,112,140	$	14,681,989

Current content assets, net	$	5,151,186	$	4,310,934
Non-current content assets, net	$	14,960,954	$	10,371,055

Property and Equipment and Accumulated Depreciation

Property and equipment and accumulated depreciation consisted of the following:



	As of December 31,						Estimated Useful Lives (in Years)
	2018			2017			Estimated Useful Lives (in Years)
	(in thousands)
Leasehold improvements	$	282,028		$	229,848		Over life of lease
Information technology	224,296			223,850			3 years
Furniture and fixtures	63,667			49,217			3-15 years
Buildings	73,468			40,681			30 years
Corporate aircraft	62,560			30,039			8 years
DVD operations equipment	53,416			59,316			5 years
Machinery and equipment	1,692			—			3 years
Land	6,125			—
Capital work-in-progress	19,548			8,267
Property and equipment, gross	786,800			641,218
Less: Accumulated depreciation	(368,519		)	(321,814		)
Property and equipment, net	$	418,281		$	319,404

Long-term Debt (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Debt Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Long-term Debt Instruments

The following table provides a summary of the Company's outstanding long-term debt and the fair values based on quoted market prices in less active markets as of December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017:



					Level 2 Fair Value as of
	Principal Amount at Par	Issuance Date	Maturity	Interest Due Dates	December 31, 2018		December 31, 2017
	(in millions)				(in millions)
5.375% Senior Notes	500	February 2013	February 2021	February and August	$	509	$	530
5.50% Senior Notes	700	February 2015	February 2022	April and October	706		739
5.750% Senior Notes	400	February 2014	March 2024	March and September	407		427
5.875% Senior Notes	800	February 2015	February 2025	April and October	812		856
4.375% Senior Notes	1,000	October 2016	November 2026	May and November	915		983
3.625% Senior Notes (1)	1,489	May 2017	May 2027	May and November	1,446		1,575
4.875% Senior Notes	1,600	October 2017	April 2028	April and October	1,464		1,571
5.875% Senior Notes	1,900	April 2018	November 2028	May and November	1,851		—
4.625% Senior Notes (2)	1,260	October 2018	May 2029	May and November	1,241		—
6.375% Senior Notes	800	October 2018	May 2029	May and November	797		—
	10,449

(1) Debt is denominated in euro with a €1,300 million principal amount. Total proceeds were $1,421 million.

(2) Debt is denominated in euro with a €1,100 million principal amount. Total proceeds were $1,262 million.

Schedule of Expected Timing of Principal and Interest Payments for the Notes

The expected timing of principal and interest payments for these Notes are as follows:



	As of
	December 31, 2018		December 31, 2017
	(in thousands)
Less than one year	$	538,384	$	311,339
Due after one year and through three years	1,550,581		627,444
Due after three years and through five years	1,646,101		1,761,465
Due after five years	11,138,129		6,348,580
Total debt obligations	$	14,873,195	$	9,048,828

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of long-debt instruments or arrangements, including identification, terms, features, collateral requirements and other information necessary to a fair presentation. These are debt arrangements that originally required repayment more than twelve months after issuance or greater than the normal operating cycle of the entity, if longer.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
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-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.22)
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Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
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-Section 45
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Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
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-Topic 505
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Reference 4: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
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-Topic 235
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-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.4-08.(e),(f))
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Reference 5: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
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-Paragraph 2
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Reference 6: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
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Reference 7: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
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Reference 8: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 942
-SubTopic 470
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=75038535&loc=d3e64711-112823

Reference 9: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 835
-SubTopic 30
-Section 55
-Paragraph 8
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=114775985&loc=d3e28878-108400

Reference 10: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 505
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109259400&loc=d3e21475-112644

+ Details

Commitments and Contingencies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Expected Timing of Payments for Streaming Content Obligations

The expected timing of payments for these streaming content obligations is as follows:



	As of December 31,
	2018		2017
	(in thousands)
Less than one year	$	8,611,398	$	7,446,947
Due after one year and through 3 years	8,841,561		8,210,159
Due after 3 years and through 5 years	1,684,582		1,894,001
Due after 5 years	148,334		143,535
Total streaming content obligations	$	19,285,875	$	17,694,642

Future Minimum Payments Under Lease Financing Obligations and Non-cancelable Operating Leases

Future minimum payments under lease financing obligations and non-cancelable operating leases as of December 31, 2018 are as follows:



Year Ending December 31,	Future Minimum Payments
	(in thousands)
2019	$	172,470
2020	139,366
2021	145,175
2022	156,527
2023	151,200
Thereafter	943,630
Total minimum payments	$	1,708,368

Future Minimum Payments Under Capital Leases

Future minimum payments under lease financing obligations and non-cancelable operating leases as of December 31, 2018 are as follows:



Year Ending December 31,	Future Minimum Payments
	(in thousands)
2019	$	172,470
2020	139,366
2021	145,175
2022	156,527
2023	151,200
Thereafter	943,630
Total minimum payments	$	1,708,368

Stockholders' Equity (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]

Summary of Activity Related to Stock Option Plans

A summary of the activities related to the Company’s stock option plans is as follows:



	Shares Available for Grant		Options Outstanding				Weighted- Average Remaining Contractual Term (in Years)	Aggregate Intrinsic Value (in Thousands)
	Shares Available for Grant		Number of Shares		Weighted- Average Exercise Price (per Share)		Weighted- Average Remaining Contractual Term (in Years)	Aggregate Intrinsic Value (in Thousands)
Balances as of December 31, 2015	16,845,316		20,995,756		$	32.39
Granted	(3,555,363	)	3,555,363		102.03
Exercised	—		(2,113,772	)	17.48
Balances as of December 31, 2016	13,289,953		22,437,347		$	44.83
Granted	(2,550,038	)	2,550,038		159.56
Exercised	—		(3,338,474	)	26.79
Expired	—		(1,561	)	$	3.25
Balances as of December 31, 2017	10,739,915		21,647,350		$	61.13
Granted	(2,039,974	)	2,039,974		311.66
Exercised	—		(3,205,911	)	38.66
Expired	—		(2,135	)	4.60
Balances as of December 31, 2018	8,699,941		20,479,278		$	89.61	5.71	$	3,748,339
Vested and exercisable at December 31, 2018			20,479,278		$	89.61	5.71	$	3,748,339

Summary of Assumptions Used to Value Stock Option Grants Using Lattice-Binomial Model

The following table summarizes the assumptions used to value option grants using the lattice-binomial model and the valuation data:



	Year Ended December 31,
	2018			2017			2016
Dividend yield	—		%	—		%	—		%
Expected volatility	40% - 42%			34% - 37%			40% - 50%
Risk-free interest rate	2.61% - 3.09%			2.24% - 2.45%			1.57% - 2.04%
Suboptimal exercise factor	2.80 - 3.01			2.48 - 2.63			2.48
Valuation data:
Weighted-average fair value (per share)	$	157.19		$	71.45		$	48.85
Total stock-based compensation expense (in thousands)	320,657			182,209			173,675
Total income tax impact on provision (in thousands)	67,575			61,842			65,173

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Equity [Abstract]

Schedule of Changes in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss

The following table summarizes the changes in accumulated balances of other comprehensive loss, net of tax:



	Foreign currency			Change in unrealized gains on available-for-sale securities			Total
	(in thousands)
Balances as of December 31, 2016	$	(47,966	)	$	(599	)	$	(48,565	)
Other comprehensive income before reclassifications	27,409			728			28,137
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income	—			(129		)	(129		)
Net decrease in other comprehensive loss	27,409			599			28,008
Balances as of December 31, 2017	$	(20,557	)	$	—		$	(20,557	)
Other comprehensive income before reclassifications	975			—			975
Net decrease in other comprehensive loss	975			—			975
Balances as of December 31, 2018	$	(19,582	)	$	—		$	(19,582	)

Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Income before Income Taxes

Income before provision for income taxes was as follows:



	Year Ended December 31,
	2018		2017		2016
	(in thousands)
United States	$	845,402	$	144,100	$	188,078
Foreign	381,056		341,221		72,429
Income before income taxes	$	1,226,458	$	485,321	$	260,507

Components of Provision for Income Taxes

The components of provision for (benefit from) income taxes for all periods presented were as follows:



	Year Ended December 31,
	2018			2017			2016
	(in thousands)
Current tax provision:
Federal	$	(22,176	)	$	54,245		$	54,315
State	(10,234		)	(7,601		)	5,790
Foreign	133,146			88,436			60,571
Total current	100,736			135,080			120,676
Deferred tax provision:
Federal	(37,396		)	(153,963		)	(24,383		)
State	(52,391		)	(52,695		)	(14,080		)
Foreign	4,267			(2,030		)	(8,384		)
Total deferred	(85,520		)	(208,688		)	(46,847		)
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes	$	15,216		$	(73,608	)	$	73,829

Reconciliation of Provision for Income Taxes

A reconciliation of the provision for income taxes, with the amount computed by applying the statutory Federal income tax rate to income before income taxes is as follows:



	Year Ended December 31,
	2018			2017			2016
	(in thousands)
Expected tax expense at U.S. Federal statutory rates	$	257,556		$	169,860		$	91,179
State income taxes, net of Federal income tax effect	33,611			6,404			7,261
Foreign earnings at other than U.S. rates	63,519			(87,514		)	14,639
Federal and California R&D tax credits	(140,749		)	(79,868		)	(41,144		)
Excess tax benefits on stock-based compensation	(191,323		)	(157,888		)	—
Impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017
Rate Change / Transition Tax	(71,516		)	79,077			—
U.S. Minimum Tax on Foreign Entities	43,099			—			—
Nondeductible Officers Compensation	14,377			28			28
Other	6,642			(3,707		)	1,866
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes	$	15,216		$	(73,608	)	$	73,829
Effective Tax Rate	1		%	(15		)%	28		%

Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

The components of deferred tax assets and liabilities were as follows:



	As of December 31,
	2018			2017
	(in thousands)
Deferred tax assets:
Stock-based compensation	$	190,451		$	149,367
Depreciation and amortization	(151,678		)	(70,382		)
Federal and California tax R&D credits	369,023			260,686
Foreign tax credits	218,026			102,242
Accruals and reserves	36,396			34,170
Other	27,203			51,614
Gross deferred tax assets	689,421			527,697
Valuation allowance	(124,996		)	(49,431		)
Net deferred tax assets	$	564,425		$	478,266

Summary of Changes in Unrecognized Tax Benefits

The aggregate changes in the Company’s total gross amount of unrecognized tax benefits are summarized as follows (in thousands):



Balances as of December 31, 2016	$	19,739
Decreases related to tax positions taken during prior periods	(3,226		)
Increases related to tax positions taken during the current period	26,389
Balances as of December 31, 2017	42,902
Increases related to tax positions taken during prior periods	4,486
Decreases related to tax positions taken during prior periods	(17,922		)
Increases related to tax positions taken during the current period	18,068
Balances as of December 31, 2018	$	47,534

Segment Information (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Long-lived Assets by Geographic Areas

The Company's long-lived tangible assets were located as follows:



	As of December 31,
	2018		2017
	(in thousands)
United States	$	381,947	$	289,875
International	36,334		29,529

Information on Reportable Segments and Reconciliation to Consolidated Net Income

The following tables represent segment information for the year ended December 31, 2018:



	As of/Year ended December 31, 2018
	Domestic Streaming		International Streaming		Domestic DVD			Consolidated
	(in thousands)
Total paid memberships at end of period (1)	58,486		80,773		2,706
Total paid net membership additions (1)	5,676		22,939		(624		)
Total free trials at end of period	2,065		7,131		25
Revenues	$	7,646,647	$	7,782,105	$	365,589		$	15,794,341
Cost of revenues	4,038,394		5,776,047		153,097			9,967,538
Marketing	1,025,351		1,344,118		—			2,369,469
Contribution profit	$	2,582,902	$	661,940	$	212,492		3,457,334
Other operating expenses								1,852,108
Operating income								1,605,226
Other income (expense)								(378,768		)
Provision for income taxes								15,216
Net income								$	1,211,242



	Year Ended December 31, 2018
	Domestic Streaming		International Streaming		Domestic DVD		Consolidated
	(in thousands)
Amortization of content assets	$	3,115,170	$	4,416,918	$	41,212	$	7,573,300

The following tables represent segment information for the year ended December 31, 2017.



	As of/Year ended December 31, 2017
	Domestic Streaming		International Streaming			Domestic DVD			Consolidated
	(in thousands)
Total paid memberships at end of period (1)	52,810		57,834			3,330
Total paid net membership additions (1)	4,905		16,649			(699		)
Total free trials at end of period	1,940		4,998			53
Revenues	$	6,153,025	$	5,089,191		$	450,497		$	11,692,713
Cost of revenues	3,470,859		4,359,616			202,525			8,033,000
Marketing	603,746		832,535			—			1,436,281
Contribution profit (loss)	$	2,078,420	$	(102,960	)	$	247,972		2,223,432
Other operating expenses									1,384,753
Operating income									838,679
Other income (expense)									(353,358		)
Benefit from income taxes									(73,608		)
Net income									$	558,929



	Year Ended December 31, 2017
	Domestic Streaming		International Streaming		Domestic DVD		Consolidated
	(in thousands)
Amortization of content assets	$	2,756,947	$	3,440,870	$	60,657	$	6,258,474

The following tables represent segment information for the year ended December 31, 2016.



	As of/Year ended December 31, 2016
	Domestic Streaming		International Streaming			Domestic DVD			Consolidated
	(in thousands)
Total paid memberships at end of period (1)	47,905		41,185			4,029
Total paid net membership additions (1)	4,504		13,747			(758		)
Total free trials at end of period	1,526		3,180			85
Revenues	$	5,077,307	$	3,211,095		$	542,267		$	8,830,669
Cost of revenues	2,951,973		3,042,747			262,742			6,257,462
Marketing	412,928		684,591			—			1,097,519
Contribution profit (loss)	$	1,712,406	$	(516,243	)	$	279,525		1,475,688
Other operating expenses									1,095,895
Operating income									379,793
Other income (expense)									(119,286		)
Provision for income taxes									73,829
Net income									$	186,678



	Year Ended December 31, 2016
	Domestic Streaming		International Streaming		Domestic DVD		Consolidated
	(in thousands)
Amortization of content assets	$	2,337,950	$	2,450,548	$	78,952	$	4,867,450



(1)	A paid membership (also referred to as a paid subscription) is defined as a membership that has the right to receive Netflix service following sign-up and a method of payment being provided, and that is not part of a free trial or other promotional offering by the Company to certain new and rejoining members. A membership is canceled and ceases to be reflected in the above metrics as of the effective cancellation date. Voluntary cancellations generally become effective at the end of the prepaid membership period. Involuntary cancellation of the service, as a result of a failed method of payment, becomes effective immediately. Memberships are assigned to territories based on the geographic location used at time of sign-up as determined by the Company’s internal systems, which utilize industry standard geo-location technology.

Reclassification (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Accounting Changes and Error Corrections [Abstract]

Schedule of Reclassifications

The revised Consolidated Statements of Operations as well as segment results for the three month periods ended March 31, 2016, 2017 and 2018, June 30, 2016, 2017 and 2018, September 30, 2016, 2017 and 2018 and December 31, 2016 and 2017 and for the twelve month periods ended December 31, 2016 and 2017 are as follows:



	Three Months Ended (unaudited)												Twelve Months Ended
	March 31, 2016			June 30, 2016			September 30, 2016			December 31, 2016			December 31, 2016
	(in thousands)
As Previously Reported
Revenues	$	1,957,736		$	2,105,204		$	2,290,188		$	2,477,541		$	8,830,669
Cost of revenues	1,369,540			1,473,098			1,532,844			1,654,419			6,029,901
Marketing	208,010			216,029			282,043			284,996			991,078
Technology and development	203,508			207,300			216,099			225,191			852,098
General and administrative	127,225			138,407			153,166			159,001			577,799
Operating income	$	49,453		$	70,370		$	106,036		$	153,934		$	379,793

Reclassifications
Revenues	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—
Cost of revenues	49,041			52,299			60,924			65,297			227,561
Marketing	23,455			24,561			28,974			29,451			106,441
Technology and development	(16,898		)	(17,096		)	(18,593		)	(19,279		)	(71,866		)
General and administrative	(55,598		)	(59,764		)	(71,305		)	(75,469		)	(262,136		)
Operating income	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—

As Revised
Revenues	$	1,957,736		$	2,105,204		$	2,290,188		$	2,477,541		$	8,830,669
Cost of revenues	1,418,581			1,525,397			1,593,768			1,719,716			6,257,462
Marketing	231,465			240,590			311,017			314,447			1,097,519
Technology and development	186,610			190,204			197,506			205,912			780,232
General and administrative	71,627			78,643			81,861			83,532			315,663
Operating income	$	49,453		$	70,370		$	106,036		$	153,934		$	379,793



	Three Months Ended (unaudited)												Twelve Months Ended
	March 31, 2017			June 30, 2017			September 30, 2017			December 31, 2017			December 31, 2017
	(in thousands)
As Previously Reported
Revenues	$	2,636,635		$	2,785,464		$	2,984,859		$	3,285,755		$	11,692,713
Cost of revenues	1,657,024			1,902,308			1,992,980			2,107,354			7,659,666
Marketing	271,270			274,323			312,490			419,939			1,278,022
Technology and development	257,108			267,083			255,236			273,351			1,052,778
General and administrative	194,291			213,943			215,526			239,808			863,568
Operating income	$	256,942		$	127,807		$	208,627		$	245,303		$	838,679

Reclassifications
Revenues	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—
Cost of revenues	83,707			89,388			93,259			106,980			373,334
Marketing	34,878			36,837			39,956			46,588			158,259
Technology and development	(23,237		)	(24,599		)	(25,013		)	(26,219		)	(99,068		)
General and administrative	(95,348		)	(101,626		)	(108,202		)	(127,349		)	(432,525		)
Operating income	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—

As Revised
Revenues	$	2,636,635		$	2,785,464		$	2,984,859		$	3,285,755		$	11,692,713
Cost of revenues	1,740,731			1,991,696			2,086,239			2,214,334			8,033,000
Marketing	306,148			311,160			352,446			466,527			1,436,281
Technology and development	233,871			242,484			230,223			247,132			953,710
General and administrative	98,943			112,317			107,324			112,459			431,043
Operating income	$	256,942		$	127,807		$	208,627		$	245,303		$	838,679



	Three Months Ended (unaudited)
	March 31, 2018			June 30, 2018			September 30, 2018
	(in thousands)
As Previously Reported
Revenues	$	3,700,856		$	3,907,270		$	3,999,374
Cost of revenues	2,196,075			2,289,867			2,412,346
Marketing	479,222			526,780			435,269
Technology and development	300,730			317,213			327,026
General and administrative	278,251			311,197			344,065
Operating income	$	446,578		$	462,213		$	480,668

Reclassifications
Revenues	$	—		$	—		$	—
Cost of revenues	104,504			112,564			118,782
Marketing	57,555			65,227			75,061
Technology and development	(18,420		)	(18,118		)	(18,406		)
General and administrative	(143,639		)	(159,673		)	(175,437		)
Operating income	$	—		$	—		$	—

As Revised
Revenues	$	3,700,856		$	3,907,270		$	3,999,374
Cost of revenues	2,300,579			2,402,431			2,531,128
Marketing	536,777			592,007			510,330
Technology and development	282,310			299,095			308,620
General and administrative	134,612			151,524			168,628
Operating income	$	446,578		$	462,213		$	480,668

The following tables represent the reclassification of costs for the quarterly domestic streaming segment results for 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively:



	Three Months Ended												Twelve Months Ended
	March 31, 2016			June 30, 2016			September 30, 2016			December 31, 2016			December 31, 2016
	(unaudited) (in thousands)
As Previously Reported
Revenues	$	1,161,241		$	1,208,271		$	1,304,333		$	1,403,462		$	5,077,307
Cost of revenues	666,546			707,106			720,658			761,479			2,855,789
Marketing	81,942			86,806			108,495			105,589			382,832
Contribution profit	$	412,753		$	414,359		$	475,180		$	536,394		$	1,838,686
Contribution margin	35.5		%	34.3		%	36.4		%	38.2		%	36.2		%

Reclassifications
Revenues	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—
Cost of revenues	21,210			22,293			25,562			27,119			96,184
Marketing	6,632			6,945			8,192			8,327			30,096
Contribution profit	$	(27,842	)	$	(29,238	)	$	(33,754	)	$	(35,446	)	$	(126,280	)

As Revised
Revenues	$	1,161,241		$	1,208,271		$	1,304,333		$	1,403,462		$	5,077,307
Cost of revenues	687,756			729,399			746,220			788,598			2,951,973
Marketing	88,574			93,751			116,687			113,916			412,928
Contribution profit	$	384,911		$	385,121		$	441,426		$	500,948		$	1,712,406
Contribution margin	33.1		%	31.9		%	33.8		%	35.7		%	33.7		%



	Three Months Ended												Twelve Months Ended
	March 31, 2017			June 30, 2017			September 30, 2017			December 31, 2017			December 31, 2017
	(unaudited) (in thousands)
As Previously Reported
Revenues	$	1,470,042		$	1,505,499		$	1,547,210		$	1,630,274		$	6,153,025
Cost of revenues	749,488			831,962			864,408			873,372			3,319,230
Marketing	115,038			113,608			128,901			195,784			553,331
Contribution profit	$	605,516		$	559,929		$	553,901		$	561,118		$	2,280,464
Contribution margin	41.2		%	37.2		%	35.8		%	34.4		%	37.1		%

Reclassifications
Revenues	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—
Cost of revenues	34,466			36,568			37,867			42,728			151,629
Marketing	11,215			11,295			12,632			15,273			50,415
Contribution profit	$	(45,681	)	$	(47,863	)	$	(50,499	)	$	(58,001	)	$	(202,044	)

As Revised
Revenues	$	1,470,042		$	1,505,499		$	1,547,210		$	1,630,274		$	6,153,025
Cost of revenues	783,954			868,530			902,275			916,100			3,470,859
Marketing	126,253			124,903			141,533			211,057			603,746
Contribution profit	$	559,835		$	512,066		$	503,402		$	503,117		$	2,078,420
Contribution margin	38.1		%	34.0		%	32.5		%	30.9		%	33.8		%



	Three Months Ended
	March 31, 2018			June 30, 2018			September 30, 2018
	(unaudited) (in thousands)
As Previously Reported
Revenues	$	1,820,019		$	1,893,222		$	1,937,314
Cost of revenues	894,873			925,703			991,823
Marketing	228,022			227,961			183,521
Contribution profit	$	697,124		$	739,558		$	761,970
Contribution margin	38.3		%	39.1		%	39.3		%

Reclassifications
Revenues	$	—		$	—		$	—
Cost of revenues	41,607			44,292			46,650
Marketing	22,697			23,337			27,074
Contribution profit	$	(64,304	)	$	(67,629	)	$	(73,724	)

As Revised
Revenues	$	1,820,019		$	1,893,222		$	1,937,314
Cost of revenues	936,480			969,995			1,038,473
Marketing	250,719			251,298			210,595
Contribution profit	$	632,820		$	671,929		$	688,246
Contribution margin	34.8		%	35.5		%	35.5		%

The following tables represent the reclassification of costs for the quarterly international streaming segment results for 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively:



	Three Months Ended												Twelve Months Ended
	March 31, 2016			June 30, 2016			September 30, 2016			December 31, 2016			December 31, 2016
	(unaudited) (in thousands)
As Previously Reported
Revenues	$	651,748		$	758,201		$	853,480		$	947,666		$	3,211,095
Cost of revenues	629,899			698,162			748,515			834,794			2,911,370
Marketing	126,068			129,223			173,548			179,407			608,246
Contribution profit (loss)	$	(104,219	)	$	(69,184	)	$	(68,583	)	$	(66,535	)	$	(308,521	)
Contribution margin	(16.0		)%	(9.1		)%	(8.0		)%	(7.0		)%	(9.6		)%

Reclassifications
Revenues	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—
Cost of revenues	27,831			30,006			35,362			38,178			131,377
Marketing	16,823			17,616			20,782			21,124			76,345
Contribution profit (loss)	$	(44,654	)	$	(47,622	)	$	(56,144	)	$	(59,302	)	$	(207,722	)

As Revised
Revenues	$	651,748		$	758,201		$	853,480		$	947,666		$	3,211,095
Cost of revenues	657,730			728,168			783,877			872,972			3,042,747
Marketing	142,891			146,839			194,330			200,531			684,591
Contribution profit (loss)	$	(148,873	)	$	(116,806	)	$	(124,727	)	$	(125,837	)	$	(516,243	)
Contribution margin	(22.8		)%	(15.4		)%	(14.6		)%	(13.3		)%	(16.1		)%



	Three Months Ended												Twelve Months Ended
	March 31, 2017			June 30, 2017			September 30, 2017			December 31, 2017			December 31, 2017
	(unaudited) (in thousands)
As Previously Reported
Revenues	$	1,046,199		$	1,165,228		$	1,327,435		$	1,550,329		$	5,089,191
Cost of revenues	847,317			1,017,612			1,081,485			1,191,497			4,137,911
Marketing	156,232			160,715			183,589			224,155			724,691
Contribution profit (loss)	$	42,650		$	(13,099	)	$	62,361		$	134,677		$	226,589
Contribution margin	4.1		%	(1.1		)%	4.7		%	8.7		%	4.5		%

Reclassifications
Revenues	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—
Cost of revenues	49,241			52,820			55,392			64,252			221,705
Marketing	23,663			25,542			27,324			31,315			107,844
Contribution profit (loss)	$	(72,904	)	$	(78,362	)	$	(82,716	)	$	(95,567	)	$	(329,549	)

As Revised
Revenues	$	1,046,199		$	1,165,228		$	1,327,435		$	1,550,329		$	5,089,191
Cost of revenues	896,558			1,070,432			1,136,877			1,255,749			4,359,616
Marketing	179,895			186,257			210,913			255,470			832,535
Contribution profit (loss)	$	(30,254	)	$	(91,461	)	$	(20,355	)	$	39,110		$	(102,960	)
Contribution margin	(2.9		)%	(7.8		)%	(1.5		)%	2.5		%	(2.0		)%



	Three Months Ended
	March 31, 2018			June 30, 2018			September 30, 2018
	(unaudited) (in thousands)
As Previously Reported
Revenues	$	1,782,086		$	1,921,144		$	1,973,283
Cost of revenues	1,258,809			1,324,240			1,383,422
Marketing	251,200			298,819			251,748
Contribution profit	$	272,077		$	298,085		$	338,113
Contribution margin	15.3		%	15.5		%	17.1		%

Reclassifications
Revenues	$	—		$	—		$	—
Cost of revenues	62,897			68,272			72,132
Marketing	34,858			41,890			47,987
Contribution profit	$	(97,755	)	$	(110,162	)	$	(120,119	)

As Revised
Revenues	$	1,782,086		$	1,921,144		$	1,973,283
Cost of revenues	1,321,706			1,392,512			1,455,554
Marketing	286,058			340,709			299,735
Contribution profit	$	174,322		$	187,923		$	217,994
Contribution margin	9.8		%	9.8		%	11.0		%

Selected Quarterly Financial Data (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]

Selected Quarterly Financial Data

The following selected quarterly financial data for the year ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 as reclassified. Refer to Note 12 for additional information on the headcount reclassification.



	December 31		September 30		June 30		March 31
	(in thousands, except for per share data)
2018
Total revenues	$	4,186,841	$	3,999,374	$	3,907,270	$	3,700,856
Gross profit	1,453,441		1,468,246		1,504,839		1,400,277
Net income	133,934		402,835		384,349		290,124
Earnings per share:
Basic	$	0.31	$	0.92	$	0.88	$	0.67
Diluted	0.30		0.89		0.85		0.64
2017
Total revenues	$	3,285,755	$	2,984,859	$	2,785,464	$	2,636,635
Gross profit	1,071,421		898,620		793,768		895,904
Net income	185,517		129,590		65,600		178,222
Earnings per share:
Basic	$	0.43	$	0.30	$	0.15	$	0.41
Diluted	0.41		0.29		0.15		0.40

Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Narrative) (Details) $ in Thousands, member in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) country member	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Organization And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Number of streaming members (more than) \| member	139.0
Number of countries (over) \| country	190
Number of members subscribing to legacy DVD-by-mail service (more than) \| member	2.0
Streaming content library, useful life (in years)	1 year
Advertising expense	$ 1,808,000	$ 1,091,000	$ 842,000
Technology and development	1,210,000	981,000	768,000
Foreign currency transaction gain (loss)	73,953	(140,790)	0
Interest and Other Income (Expense)
Organization And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Foreign currency transaction gain (loss)	$ (1,000)	$ (128,000)	$ 23,000
Minimum
Organization And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Content assets, useful life (in years)	10 years
Maximum
Organization And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Property and equipment estimated useful life	30 years
Forecast
Organization And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Operating lease, right-of-use asset				$ 700,000
Operating lease, liability				$ 700,000

Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Computation of Net Income Per Share) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2017	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Basic earnings per share:
Net income	$ 133,934	$ 402,835	$ 384,349	$ 290,124	$ 185,517	$ 129,590	$ 65,600	$ 178,222	$ 1,211,242	$ 558,929	$ 186,678
Weighted-average common shares outstanding									435,374	431,885	428,822
Basic earnings per share (in USD per share)	$ 0.31	$ 0.92	$ 0.88	$ 0.67	$ 0.43	$ 0.30	$ 0.15	$ 0.41	$ 2.78	$ 1.29	$ 0.44
Diluted earnings per share:
Net income	$ 133,934	$ 402,835	$ 384,349	$ 290,124	$ 185,517	$ 129,590	$ 65,600	$ 178,222	$ 1,211,242	$ 558,929	$ 186,678
Shares used in computation:
Weighted-average common shares outstanding									435,374	431,885	428,822
Employee stock options									15,870	14,929	9,830
Weighted-average number of shares									451,244	446,814	438,652
Diluted earnings per share (in USD per share)	$ 0.30	$ 0.89	$ 0.85	$ 0.64	$ 0.41	$ 0.29	$ 0.15	$ 0.40	$ 2.68	$ 1.25	$ 0.43

- Definition

The amount of net income (loss) for the period per each share of common stock or unit outstanding during the reporting period.

+ References

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+ Details

- Definition

The amount of net income (loss) for the period available to each share of common stock or common unit outstanding during the reporting period and to each share or unit that would have been outstanding assuming the issuance of common shares or units for all dilutive potential common shares or units outstanding during the reporting period.

+ References

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+ Details

- Definition

The portion of profit or loss for the period, net of income taxes, which is attributable to the parent.

+ References + Details

Organization And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies (Summary of Potential Common Shares Excluded From Diluted Calculation) (Details) - shares shares in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Employee stock options
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Employee stock options	330	189	1,545

Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Cash and Cash Equivalents [Line Items]
Cash	$ 2,572,685	$ 2,072,296
Cash and Cash Equivalents	3,794,483	2,822,795
Restricted Cash	16,260	4,367
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents	17,558	5,643
Cash and Restricted Cash	2,588,945	2,076,663
Total Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash and cash equivalents	3,812,041	2,822,795	$ 1,467,576	$ 1,809,330
Cash, Cash Equivalents And Restricted Cash		2,828,438
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Level 1 Securities \| Money market funds
Cash and Cash Equivalents [Line Items]
Money market funds	1,221,798	449,734
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Level 2 Securities
Cash and Cash Equivalents [Line Items]
Time Deposits		300,765
Money market funds \| Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Level 1 Securities
Cash and Cash Equivalents [Line Items]
Non-current Assets, Securities	1,298	1,276
Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash Equivalents	$ 1,223,096	451,010
Bank Time Deposits \| Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Level 2 Securities
Cash and Cash Equivalents [Line Items]
Non-current Assets, Securities		0
Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash Equivalents		$ 300,765

Balance Sheet Components (Components of Content Library) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Total content assets, net	$ 20,112,140	$ 14,681,989
Current content assets, net	5,151,186	4,310,934
Non-current content assets, net	$ 14,960,954	10,371,055
Average produced content asset amortization percentage (more than)	90.00%
Average produced content asset amortization period (in years)	4 years
Average unamortized cost percentage (more than)	30.00%
Average amortization period of unamortized cost at balance sheet date (in years)	1 year
Produced content, amortization period, tranche one (in years)	1 year
Produced content, amortization period, tranche two (in years)	2 years
Produced content, amortization period, tranche three (in years)	3 years
Deferred revenue	$ 760,899	618,622
Gift Cards and Other Prepaid Memberships
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Deferred revenue		142,000
Licensed content, net
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Finite-lived intangible assets, net	14,081,463	11,771,778
Produced content, net
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Finite-lived intangible assets, net	2,403,896	1,427,256
In production	3,305,126	1,311,137
In development and pre-production	311,842	158,517
Total content assets, net	$ 6,020,864	2,896,910
Produced content, amortization period, tranche one, percent	33.00%
Produced content, amortization period, tranche two, percent	82.00%
DVD, net
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Total content assets, net	$ 9,813	$ 13,301

Balance Sheet Components (Property and Equipment and Accumulated Depreciation) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	$ 786,800	$ 641,218
Less: Accumulated depreciation	(368,519)	(321,814)
Property and equipment, net	$ 418,281	319,404
Produced content, amortization period, tranche two (in years)	2 years
Maximum
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Estimated Useful Lives	30 years
Leasehold improvements
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	$ 282,028	229,848
Information technology
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	$ 224,296	223,850
Estimated Useful Lives	3 years
Furniture and fixtures
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	$ 63,667	49,217
Furniture and fixtures \| Minimum
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Estimated Useful Lives	3 years
Furniture and fixtures \| Maximum
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Estimated Useful Lives	15 years
Buildings
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	$ 73,468	40,681
Estimated Useful Lives	30 years
Corporate aircraft
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	$ 62,560	30,039
Estimated Useful Lives	8 years
DVD operations equipment
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	$ 53,416	59,316
Estimated Useful Lives	5 years
Machinery and equipment
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	$ 1,692	0
Estimated Useful Lives	3 years
Land
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	$ 6,125	0
Capital work-in-progress
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	$ 19,548	$ 8,267

Long-term Debt (Narrative) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate outstanding principal	$ 10,360,058	$ 6,499,432
Debt issuance cost	$ 89,000
Senior Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Redemption price, percent of outstanding principal	101.00%

Long-term Debt (Summary of Long-term Debt) (Details) - Senior Notes	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Face amount		€ 2,400,000,000	$ 10,449,000,000
5.375% Senior Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate		5.375%	5.375%
Face amount			$ 500,000,000
Long-term debt, fair value			$ 509,000,000	$ 530,000,000
5.50% Senior Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate		5.50%	5.50%
Face amount			$ 700,000,000
Long-term debt, fair value			$ 706,000,000	739,000,000
5.750% Senior Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate		5.75%	5.75%
Face amount			$ 400,000,000
Long-term debt, fair value			$ 407,000,000	427,000,000
5.875% Senior Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate		5.875%	5.875%
Face amount			$ 800,000,000
Long-term debt, fair value			$ 812,000,000	856,000,000
4.375% Senior Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate		4.375%	4.375%
Face amount			$ 1,000,000,000
Long-term debt, fair value			$ 915,000,000	983,000,000
3.625% Senior Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Foreign currency remeasurement loss on long-term debt	$ (74,000,000)
Interest rate		3.625%	3.625%
Face amount		€ 1,300,000,000	$ 1,489,000,000
Long-term debt, fair value			$ 1,446,000,000	1,575,000,000
Proceeds from convertible debt	1,421,000,000
4.875% Senior Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate		4.875%	4.875%
Face amount			$ 1,600,000,000
Long-term debt, fair value			$ 1,464,000,000	1,571,000,000
5.875% Senior Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate		5.875%	5.875%
Face amount			$ 1,900,000,000
Long-term debt, fair value			$ 1,851,000,000	0
4.625% Senior Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate		4.625%	4.625%
Face amount		€ 1,100,000,000	$ 1,260,000,000
Long-term debt, fair value			$ 1,241,000,000	0
Proceeds from convertible debt	$ 1,262,000,000
6.375% Senior Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate		6.375%	6.375%
Face amount			$ 800,000,000
Long-term debt, fair value			$ 797,000,000	$ 0

Long-term Debt (Maturities) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]
Less than one year	$ 538,384	$ 311,339
Due after one year and through three years	1,550,581	627,444
Due after three years and through five years	1,646,101	1,761,465
Due after five years	11,138,129	6,348,580
Total debt obligations	$ 14,873,195	$ 9,048,828

Long-term Debt (Revolving Credit Facility) (Details) - Revolving Credit Facility - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Jul. 31, 2017
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity		$ 500,000,000
Line of credit facility, additional maximum borrowing capacity		$ 250,000,000
Commitment fee percentage	0.10%
London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR)
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	0.75%
Federal Funds Rate
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	0.50%
One-Month LIBOR Rate
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	1.00%
One-Month LIBOR Rate \| Minimum
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	0.00%

Commitments and Contingencies (Streaming Content) (Narrative) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Contractual Obligation [Line Items]
Total streaming content obligations	$ 19,285,875	$ 17,694,642
Current content liabilities	4,686,019	4,173,041
Non-current content liabilities	3,759,026	3,329,796
Unrecorded streaming obligations	10,800,000	10,200,000
Current Content Liabilities
Contractual Obligation [Line Items]
Current content liabilities	4,700,000	4,200,000
Non-current Content Liabilities
Contractual Obligation [Line Items]
Non-current content liabilities	$ 3,800,000	$ 3,300,000

Commitments and Contingencies (Expected Timing of Payments for Commitments) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Less than one year	$ 8,611,398	$ 7,446,947
Due after one year and through 3 years	8,841,561	8,210,159
Due after 3 years and through 5 years	1,684,582	1,894,001
Due after 5 years	148,334	143,535
Total streaming content obligations	$ 19,285,875	$ 17,694,642

Commitments and Contingencies (Lease Obligations) (Narrative) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Capital Leased Assets [Line Items]
Rent expense	$ 107	$ 75	$ 53
Land, Buildings and Improvements \| Los Gatos Buildings
Capital Leased Assets [Line Items]
Total costs of buildings and improvements	41
Capital lease obligations	28
Capital leases, future minimum payments due	11
Capital lease financing obligation under extended lease term	22
Land, Buildings and Improvements \| Los Gatos Buildings Expanded Site and Los Angeles
Capital Leased Assets [Line Items]
Operating leases, future minimum payments due	$ 1,157

Commitments and Contingencies (Future Minimum Payments Under Lease Financing Obligations and Non-Cancelable Operating Leases) (Details) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
2019	$ 172,470
2020	139,366
2021	145,175
2022	156,527
2023	151,200
Thereafter	943,630
Total minimum payments	$ 1,708,368

Stockholders' Equity (Preferred Stock and Voting Rights) (Narrative) (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018 vote $ / shares shares	Dec. 31, 2017 $ / shares shares
Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]
Preferred stock, shares authorized	10,000,000	10,000,000
Preferred stock, par value (in USD per share) \| $ / shares	$ 0.001	$ 0.001
Preferred stock, shares issued	0	0
Preferred stock, shares outstanding	0	0
Number of voting rights per share \| vote	1

Stockholders' Equity (Stock Option Plans) (Narrative) (Details) - USD ($) shares in Millions, $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Total intrinsic value of options exercised	$ 863	$ 464	$ 189
Cash received from option exercised	$ 125	$ 88	$ 37
2011 Stock Plan \| Employee Stock Option
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Shares available for future issuance	8.7

Stockholders' Equity (Summary of Activity Related to Stock Option Plans) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Outstanding [Roll Forward]
Shares Available for Grant, Beginning Balances	10,739,915	13,289,953	16,845,316
Options Outstanding, Number of Shares, Beginning Balances	21,647,350	22,437,347	20,995,756
Options Outstanding, Number of Shares, Granted	(2,039,974)	(2,550,038)	(3,555,363)
Options Outstanding, Number of Shares, Exercised	(3,205,911)	(3,338,474)	(2,113,772)
Options Outstanding, Number of Shares, Expired	(2,135)	(1,561)
Shares Available for Grant, Ending Balances	8,699,941	10,739,915	13,289,953
Options Outstanding, Number of Shares, Ending Balances	20,479,278	21,647,350	22,437,347
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Outstanding, Weighted Average Exercise Price [Abstract]
Options Outstanding, Weighted-Average Exercise Price, Beginning Balances (in USD per share)	$ 61.13	$ 44.83	$ 32.39
Options Outstanding, Weighted-Average Exercise Price, Granted (in USD per share)	311.66	159.56	102.03
Options Outstanding, Weighted-Average Exercise Price, Exercised (in USD per share)	38.66	26.79	17.48
Options Outstanding, Weighted-Average Exercise Price, Expired (in USD per share)	4.60	3.25
Options Outstanding, Weighted-Average Exercise Price, Ending Balances (in USD per share)	$ 89.61	$ 61.13	$ 44.83
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Additional Disclosures [Abstract]
Options Outstanding, Number of Shares, Vested and exercisable	20,479,278
Options Outstanding, Weighted-Average Exercise Price, Vested and exercisable (in USD per share)	$ 89.61
Weighted-Average Remaining Contractual Term, Vested and exercisable (in Years)	5 years 8 months 16 days
Aggregate Intrinsic Value, Vested and exercisable	$ 3,748,339
Expiration period	10 years

Stockholders' Equity (Summary of Assumptions Used to Value Stock Option Grants) (Details) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($) $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) $ / shares
Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]
Dividend yield	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
Expected volatility, minimum	40.00%	34.00%	40.00%
Expected volatility, maximum	42.00%	37.00%	50.00%
Risk-free interest rate, minimum	2.61%	2.24%	1.57%
Risk-free interest rate, maximum	3.09%	2.45%	2.04%
Suboptimal exercise factor, minimum	2.80	2.48	2.48
Suboptimal exercise factor, maximum	3.01	2.63	2.48
Valuation data:
Weighted-average fair value (in USD per share) \| $ / shares	$ 157.19	$ 71.45	$ 48.85
Total stock-based compensation expense (in thousands)	$ 320,657	$ 182,209	$ 173,675
Total income tax impact on provision (in thousands)	$ 67,575	$ 61,842	$ 65,173

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance	$ 3,581,956	$ 2,679,800
Other comprehensive income before reclassifications	975	28,137
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income		(129)
Net decrease in other comprehensive loss	975	28,008
Ending Balance	5,238,765	3,581,956
Foreign currency
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance	(20,557)	(47,966)
Other comprehensive income before reclassifications	975	27,409
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income		0
Net decrease in other comprehensive loss	975	27,409
Ending Balance	(19,582)	(20,557)
Change in unrealized gains on available-for-sale securities
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance	0	(599)
Other comprehensive income before reclassifications	0	728
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income		(129)
Net decrease in other comprehensive loss	0	599
Ending Balance	0	0
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance	(20,557)	(48,565)
Ending Balance	$ (19,582)	$ (20,557)

Income Taxes (Schedule of Income before Income Taxes) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
United States	$ 845,402	$ 144,100	$ 188,078
Foreign	381,056	341,221	72,429
Income before income taxes	$ 1,226,458	$ 485,321	$ 260,507

Income Taxes (Components of Provision for Income Taxes) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Current tax provision:
Federal	$ (22,176)	$ 54,245	$ 54,315
State	(10,234)	(7,601)	5,790
Foreign	133,146	88,436	60,571
Total current	100,736	135,080	120,676
Deferred tax provision:
Federal	(37,396)	(153,963)	(24,383)
State	(52,391)	(52,695)	(14,080)
Foreign	4,267	(2,030)	(8,384)
Total deferred	(85,520)	(208,688)	(46,847)
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes	$ 15,216	$ (73,608)	$ 73,829

Income Taxes (Narrative) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
Income Taxes (Narrative) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Operating Loss Carryforwards [Line Items]
Federal statutory income tax rate, percent			21.00%	35.00%
TCJA, provisional information, income tax expense (benefit)		$ 79,000
TCJA, provisional information, transition tax		32,000
TCJA, provisional information, benefit related to remeasurement of deferred tax assets		47,000
TCJA, income tax expense (benefit)			$ 34,000
Rate Change / Transition Tax			(71,516)	$ 79,077	$ 0
U.S. Minimum Tax on Foreign Entities			45,000
TCJA, benefit related to remeasurement of deferred tax assets			27,000
Valuation allowance		49,431	124,996	49,431
Foreign tax credits		102,242	218,026	102,242
Unrecognized tax benefits		42,902	47,534	42,902	$ 19,739
Reduction in provision for income taxes due to impact of effective tax rate		$ 38,000	44,000	$ 38,000
Discrete tax benefit resulting from settlement	$ 7,000
Federal tax authority
Operating Loss Carryforwards [Line Items]
Tax credit carryforward, amount			248,000
State tax authority
Operating Loss Carryforwards [Line Items]
Tax credit carryforward, amount			193,000
Foreign tax authority
Operating Loss Carryforwards [Line Items]
Foreign tax credits			$ 99,000

Income Taxes (Reconciliation of Provision for Income Taxes) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Expected tax expense at U.S. Federal statutory rates	$ 257,556	$ 169,860	$ 91,179
State income taxes, net of Federal income tax effect	33,611	6,404	7,261
Foreign earnings at other than U.S. rates	63,519	(87,514)	14,639
Federal and California R&D tax credits	(140,749)	(79,868)	(41,144)
Excess tax benefits on stock-based compensation	(191,323)	(157,888)	0
Rate Change / Transition Tax	(71,516)	79,077	0
U.S. Minimum Tax on Foreign Entities	43,099	0	0
Nondeductible Officers Compensation	14,377	28	28
Other	6,642	(3,707)	1,866
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes	$ 15,216	$ (73,608)	$ 73,829
Effective Tax Rate	1.00%	(15.00%)	28.00%

Income Taxes (Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Deferred tax assets (liabilities):
Stock-based compensation	$ 190,451	$ 149,367
Depreciation and amortization	(151,678)	(70,382)
Federal and California tax R&D credits	369,023	260,686
Foreign tax credits	218,026	102,242
Accruals and reserves	36,396	34,170
Other	27,203	51,614
Gross deferred tax assets	689,421	527,697
Valuation allowance	(124,996)	(49,431)
Net deferred tax assets	$ 564,425	$ 478,266

Income Taxes (Summary of Changes in Unrecognized Tax Benefits) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Reconciliation of Unrecognized Tax Benefits, Excluding Amounts Pertaining to Examined Tax Returns [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance	$ 42,902	$ 19,739
Increases related to tax positions taken during prior periods	4,486
Decreases related to tax positions taken during prior periods	(17,922)	(3,226)
Increases related to tax positions taken during the current period	18,068	26,389
Ending Balance	$ 47,534	$ 42,902

Employee Benefit Plan (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
Employee Benefit Plan (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]
Eligible employees maximum contribution percentage	80.00%
Contributions by employer	$ 27	$ 20	$ 16

Segment Information (Narrative) (Details)	12 Months Ended
Segment Information (Narrative) (Details)	Dec. 31, 2018 segment
Segment Reporting [Abstract]
Number of reportable segments	3

Segment Information (Long-lived Assets by Geographic Areas) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
United States
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Long-lived assets	$ 381,947	$ 289,875
International
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Long-lived assets	$ 36,334	$ 29,529

Segment Information (Information on Reportable Segments and Reconciliation to Consolidated Net Income) (Details) membership in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended												12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) membership	Sep. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($) membership	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) membership	Sep. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) membership	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($) membership	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) membership
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total paid memberships at end of period \| membership
Revenues	$ 4,186,841	$ 3,999,374	$ 3,907,270	$ 3,700,856	$ 3,285,755	$ 2,984,859	$ 2,785,464	$ 2,636,635	$ 2,477,541	$ 2,290,188	$ 2,105,204	$ 1,957,736	$ 15,794,341	$ 11,692,713	$ 8,830,669
Cost of revenues		2,531,128	2,402,431	2,300,579	2,214,334	2,086,239	1,991,696	1,740,731	1,719,716	1,593,768	1,525,397	1,418,581	9,967,538	8,033,000	6,257,462
Marketing		510,330	592,007	536,777	466,527	352,446	311,160	306,148	314,447	311,017	240,590	231,465	2,369,469	1,436,281	1,097,519
Contribution profit (loss)													3,457,334	2,223,432	1,475,688
Other operating expenses													1,852,108	1,384,753	1,095,895
Operating income		480,668	462,213	446,578	245,303	208,627	127,807	256,942	$ 153,934	106,036	70,370	49,453	1,605,226	838,679	379,793
Other income (expense)													(378,768)	(353,358)	(119,286)
Provision for income taxes													15,216	(73,608)	73,829
Net income	$ 133,934	402,835	384,349	290,124	$ 185,517	129,590	65,600	178,222					1,211,242	558,929	186,678
Amortization of content assets													$ 7,573,300	$ 6,258,474	$ 4,867,450
Domestic Streaming
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total paid memberships at end of period \| membership	58,486				52,810				47,905				58,486	52,810	47,905
Total paid net membership additions \| membership													5,676	4,905	4,504
Total free trials at end of period \| membership	2,065				1,940				1,526				2,065	1,940	1,526
Revenues		1,937,314	1,893,222	1,820,019	$ 1,630,274	1,547,210	1,505,499	1,470,042	$ 1,403,462	1,304,333	1,208,271	1,161,241	$ 7,646,647	$ 6,153,025	$ 5,077,307
Cost of revenues		1,038,473	969,995	936,480	916,100	902,275	868,530	783,954	788,598	746,220	729,399	687,756	4,038,394	3,470,859	2,951,973
Marketing		210,595	251,298	250,719	211,057	141,533	124,903	126,253	113,916	116,687	93,751	88,574	1,025,351	603,746	412,928
Contribution profit (loss)		688,246	671,929	632,820	$ 503,117	503,402	512,066	559,835	$ 500,948	441,426	385,121	384,911	2,582,902	2,078,420	1,712,406
Amortization of content assets													$ 3,115,170	$ 2,756,947	$ 2,337,950
International Streaming
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total paid memberships at end of period \| membership	80,773				57,834				41,185				80,773	57,834	41,185
Total paid net membership additions \| membership													22,939	16,649	13,747
Total free trials at end of period \| membership	7,131				4,998				3,180				7,131	4,998	3,180
Revenues		1,973,283	1,921,144	1,782,086	$ 1,550,329	1,327,435	1,165,228	1,046,199	$ 947,666	853,480	758,201	651,748	$ 7,782,105	$ 5,089,191	$ 3,211,095
Cost of revenues		1,455,554	1,392,512	1,321,706	1,255,749	1,136,877	1,070,432	896,558	872,972	783,877	728,168	657,730	5,776,047	4,359,616	3,042,747
Marketing		299,735	340,709	286,058	255,470	210,913	186,257	179,895	200,531	194,330	146,839	142,891	1,344,118	832,535	684,591
Contribution profit (loss)		$ 217,994	$ 187,923	$ 174,322	$ 39,110	$ (20,355)	$ (91,461)	$ (30,254)	$ (125,837)	$ (124,727)	$ (116,806)	$ (148,873)	661,940	(102,960)	(516,243)
Amortization of content assets													$ 4,416,918	$ 3,440,870	$ 2,450,548
Domestic DVD
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total paid memberships at end of period \| membership	2,706				3,330				4,029				2,706	3,330	4,029
Total paid net membership additions \| membership													(624)	(699)	(758)
Total free trials at end of period \| membership	25				53				85				25	53	85
Revenues													$ 365,589	$ 450,497	$ 542,267
Cost of revenues													153,097	202,525	262,742
Marketing													0	0	0
Contribution profit (loss)													212,492	247,972	279,525
Amortization of content assets													$ 41,212	$ 60,657	$ 78,952

Reclassification (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended												12 Months Ended
Reclassification (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2017	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016	Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Error Corrections and Prior Period Adjustments Restatement [Line Items]
Revenues	$ 4,186,841	$ 3,999,374	$ 3,907,270	$ 3,700,856	$ 3,285,755	$ 2,984,859	$ 2,785,464	$ 2,636,635	$ 2,477,541	$ 2,290,188	$ 2,105,204	$ 1,957,736	$ 15,794,341	$ 11,692,713	$ 8,830,669
Cost of revenues		2,531,128	2,402,431	2,300,579	2,214,334	2,086,239	1,991,696	1,740,731	1,719,716	1,593,768	1,525,397	1,418,581	9,967,538	8,033,000	6,257,462
Marketing		510,330	592,007	536,777	466,527	352,446	311,160	306,148	314,447	311,017	240,590	231,465	2,369,469	1,436,281	1,097,519
Technology and development		308,620	299,095	282,310	247,132	230,223	242,484	233,871	205,912	197,506	190,204	186,610	1,221,814	953,710	780,232
General and administrative		168,628	151,524	134,612	112,459	107,324	112,317	98,943	83,532	81,861	78,643	71,627	630,294	431,043	315,663
Operating income		480,668	462,213	446,578	245,303	208,627	127,807	256,942	153,934	106,036	70,370	49,453	1,605,226	838,679	379,793
Contribution profit (loss)													3,457,334	2,223,432	1,475,688
Domestic Streaming
Error Corrections and Prior Period Adjustments Restatement [Line Items]
Revenues		1,937,314	1,893,222	1,820,019	1,630,274	1,547,210	1,505,499	1,470,042	1,403,462	1,304,333	1,208,271	1,161,241	7,646,647	6,153,025	5,077,307
Cost of revenues		1,038,473	969,995	936,480	916,100	902,275	868,530	783,954	788,598	746,220	729,399	687,756	4,038,394	3,470,859	2,951,973
Marketing		210,595	251,298	250,719	211,057	141,533	124,903	126,253	113,916	116,687	93,751	88,574	1,025,351	603,746	412,928
Contribution profit (loss)		$ 688,246	$ 671,929	$ 632,820	$ 503,117	$ 503,402	$ 512,066	$ 559,835	$ 500,948	$ 441,426	$ 385,121	$ 384,911	2,582,902	$ 2,078,420	$ 1,712,406
Contribution margin		35.50%	35.50%	34.80%	30.90%	32.50%	34.00%	38.10%	35.70%	33.80%	31.90%	33.10%		33.80%	33.70%
International Streaming
Error Corrections and Prior Period Adjustments Restatement [Line Items]
Revenues		$ 1,973,283	$ 1,921,144	$ 1,782,086	$ 1,550,329	$ 1,327,435	$ 1,165,228	$ 1,046,199	$ 947,666	$ 853,480	$ 758,201	$ 651,748	7,782,105	$ 5,089,191	$ 3,211,095
Cost of revenues		1,455,554	1,392,512	1,321,706	1,255,749	1,136,877	1,070,432	896,558	872,972	783,877	728,168	657,730	5,776,047	4,359,616	3,042,747
Marketing		299,735	340,709	286,058	255,470	210,913	186,257	179,895	200,531	194,330	146,839	142,891	1,344,118	832,535	684,591
Contribution profit (loss)		$ 217,994	$ 187,923	$ 174,322	$ 39,110	$ (20,355)	$ (91,461)	$ (30,254)	$ (125,837)	$ (124,727)	$ (116,806)	$ (148,873)	$ 661,940	$ (102,960)	$ (516,243)
Contribution margin		11.00%	9.80%	9.80%	2.50%	(1.50%)	(7.80%)	(2.90%)	(13.30%)	(14.60%)	(15.40%)	(22.80%)		(2.00%)	(16.10%)
As Previously Reported
Error Corrections and Prior Period Adjustments Restatement [Line Items]
Revenues		$ 3,999,374	$ 3,907,270	$ 3,700,856	$ 3,285,755	$ 2,984,859	$ 2,785,464	$ 2,636,635	$ 2,477,541	$ 2,290,188	$ 2,105,204	$ 1,957,736		$ 11,692,713	$ 8,830,669
Cost of revenues		2,412,346	2,289,867	2,196,075	2,107,354	1,992,980	1,902,308	1,657,024	1,654,419	1,532,844	1,473,098	1,369,540		7,659,666	6,029,901
Marketing		435,269	526,780	479,222	419,939	312,490	274,323	271,270	284,996	282,043	216,029	208,010		1,278,022	991,078
Technology and development		327,026	317,213	300,730	273,351	255,236	267,083	257,108	225,191	216,099	207,300	203,508		1,052,778	852,098
General and administrative		344,065	311,197	278,251	239,808	215,526	213,943	194,291	159,001	153,166	138,407	127,225		863,568	577,799
Operating income		480,668	462,213	446,578	245,303	208,627	127,807	256,942	153,934	106,036	70,370	49,453		838,679	379,793
As Previously Reported \| Domestic Streaming
Error Corrections and Prior Period Adjustments Restatement [Line Items]
Revenues		1,937,314	1,893,222	1,820,019	1,630,274	1,547,210	1,505,499	1,470,042	1,403,462	1,304,333	1,208,271	1,161,241		6,153,025	5,077,307
Cost of revenues		991,823	925,703	894,873	873,372	864,408	831,962	749,488	761,479	720,658	707,106	666,546		3,319,230	2,855,789
Marketing		183,521	227,961	228,022	195,784	128,901	113,608	115,038	105,589	108,495	86,806	81,942		553,331	382,832
Contribution profit (loss)		$ 761,970	$ 739,558	$ 697,124	$ 561,118	$ 553,901	$ 559,929	$ 605,516	$ 536,394	$ 475,180	$ 414,359	$ 412,753		$ 2,280,464	$ 1,838,686
Contribution margin		39.30%	39.10%	38.30%	34.40%	35.80%	37.20%	41.20%	38.20%	36.40%	34.30%	35.50%		37.10%	36.20%
As Previously Reported \| International Streaming
Error Corrections and Prior Period Adjustments Restatement [Line Items]
Revenues		$ 1,973,283	$ 1,921,144	$ 1,782,086	$ 1,550,329	$ 1,327,435	$ 1,165,228	$ 1,046,199	$ 947,666	$ 853,480	$ 758,201	$ 651,748		$ 5,089,191	$ 3,211,095
Cost of revenues		1,383,422	1,324,240	1,258,809	1,191,497	1,081,485	1,017,612	847,317	834,794	748,515	698,162	629,899		4,137,911	2,911,370
Marketing		251,748	298,819	251,200	224,155	183,589	160,715	156,232	179,407	173,548	129,223	126,068		724,691	608,246
Contribution profit (loss)		$ 338,113	$ 298,085	$ 272,077	$ 134,677	$ 62,361	$ (13,099)	$ 42,650	$ (66,535)	$ (68,583)	$ (69,184)	$ (104,219)		$ 226,589	$ (308,521)
Contribution margin		17.10%	15.50%	15.30%	8.70%	4.70%	(1.10%)	4.10%	(7.00%)	(8.00%)	(9.10%)	(16.00%)		4.50%	(9.60%)
Reclassifications
Error Corrections and Prior Period Adjustments Restatement [Line Items]
Revenues		$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0		$ 0	$ 0
Cost of revenues		118,782	112,564	104,504	106,980	93,259	89,388	83,707	65,297	60,924	52,299	49,041		373,334	227,561
Marketing		75,061	65,227	57,555	46,588	39,956	36,837	34,878	29,451	28,974	24,561	23,455		158,259	106,441
Technology and development		(18,406)	(18,118)	(18,420)	(26,219)	(25,013)	(24,599)	(23,237)	(19,279)	(18,593)	(17,096)	(16,898)		(99,068)	(71,866)
General and administrative		(175,437)	(159,673)	(143,639)	(127,349)	(108,202)	(101,626)	(95,348)	(75,469)	(71,305)	(59,764)	(55,598)		(432,525)	(262,136)
Operating income		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0
Reclassifications \| Domestic Streaming
Error Corrections and Prior Period Adjustments Restatement [Line Items]
Revenues		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0
Cost of revenues		46,650	44,292	41,607	42,728	37,867	36,568	34,466	27,119	25,562	22,293	21,210		151,629	96,184
Marketing		27,074	23,337	22,697	15,273	12,632	11,295	11,215	8,327	8,192	6,945	6,632		50,415	30,096
Contribution profit (loss)		(73,724)	(67,629)	(64,304)	(58,001)	(50,499)	(47,863)	(45,681)	(35,446)	(33,754)	(29,238)	(27,842)		(202,044)	(126,280)
Reclassifications \| International Streaming
Error Corrections and Prior Period Adjustments Restatement [Line Items]
Revenues		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0
Cost of revenues		72,132	68,272	62,897	64,252	55,392	52,820	49,241	38,178	35,362	30,006	27,831		221,705	131,377
Marketing		47,987	41,890	34,858	31,315	27,324	25,542	23,663	21,124	20,782	17,616	16,823		107,844	76,345
Contribution profit (loss)		$ (120,119)	$ (110,162)	$ (97,755)	$ (95,567)	$ (82,716)	$ (78,362)	$ (72,904)	$ (59,302)	$ (56,144)	$ (47,622)	$ (44,654)		$ (329,549)	$ (207,722)

Selected Quarterly Financial Data (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended												12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2017	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016	Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Effect of Fourth Quarter Events [Line Items]
Total revenues	$ 4,186,841	$ 3,999,374	$ 3,907,270	$ 3,700,856	$ 3,285,755	$ 2,984,859	$ 2,785,464	$ 2,636,635	$ 2,477,541	$ 2,290,188	$ 2,105,204	$ 1,957,736	$ 15,794,341	$ 11,692,713	$ 8,830,669
Gross profit	1,453,441	1,468,246	1,504,839	1,400,277	1,071,421	898,620	793,768	895,904
Net income	$ 133,934	$ 402,835	$ 384,349	$ 290,124	$ 185,517	$ 129,590	$ 65,600	$ 178,222					$ 1,211,242	$ 558,929	$ 186,678
Earnings (loss) per share:
Basic (in USD per share)	$ 0.31	$ 0.92	$ 0.88	$ 0.67	$ 0.43	$ 0.30	$ 0.15	$ 0.41					$ 2.78	$ 1.29	$ 0.44
Diluted (in USD per share)	$ 0.30	$ 0.89	$ 0.85	$ 0.64	$ 0.41	$ 0.29	$ 0.15	$ 0.40					$ 2.68	$ 1.25	$ 0.43
As Previously Reported
Effect of Fourth Quarter Events [Line Items]
Total revenues		$ 3,999,374	$ 3,907,270	$ 3,700,856	$ 3,285,755	$ 2,984,859	$ 2,785,464	$ 2,636,635	$ 2,477,541	$ 2,290,188	$ 2,105,204	$ 1,957,736		$ 11,692,713	$ 8,830,669

- Definition

The amount of net income (loss) for the period per each share of common stock or unit outstanding during the reporting period.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 220
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.7-04(19))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=114873790&loc=SL114874131-224263

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 260
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 7
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109260490&loc=d3e1337-109256

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/exampleRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 260
-SubTopic 10
-Section 55
-Paragraph 52
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109256448&loc=d3e4984-109258

Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 220
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-03(21))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=115205541&loc=SL114868664-224227

Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 250
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 11
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109234566&loc=d3e22694-107794

Reference 6: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 260
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (a)
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The amount of net income (loss) for the period available to each share of common stock or common unit outstanding during the reporting period and to each share or unit that would have been outstanding assuming the issuance of common shares or units for all dilutive potential common shares or units outstanding during the reporting period.

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The portion of profit or loss for the period, net of income taxes, which is attributable to the parent.

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