'Suits,' 'One Piece,' International Productions: What's Attracting Viewers To Netflix?

Netflix is keeping viewers and attracting more subscribers by licensing older titles and introducing new ones.

"Suits" -- the American legal drama series starred by the Duchess of Suxess Meghan Markle -- was one of the biggest successes for the streaming platform in the past few months. The series premiered in USA Network in 2011 and ran until 2019, but it was only available on Netflix in July.

The company said "Suits" broke records. It was "the most-watched title across film, original TV and acquired TV on streaming in the U.S. for 12 weeks starting in late June," Netflix said, citing Nielsen data.

The Japanese manga series "One Piece" was another big hit in the latest quarter. Netflix's live action adaptation became its first-ever English language title to debut at the top of Japan's most watched. It was also the first on Netflix's global Top 10 for three consecutive weeks, the company said.

"Success in streaming starts with engagement," Netflix said in its earnings statement Wednesday. "It's our best proxy for customer satisfaction and when people are watching they are more likely to stick around and recommend Netflix to their friends."

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The company posted a profit of $1.68 billion in the third quarter, 20% more than a year earlier. It added 9 million subscribers in the period. Analysts expected 5.49 million, according to CNBC.

With high demand, Netflix announced a price increase for some of its subscription plans in the U.S., the U.K. and France.

The company's new strategy of offering plans that include advertisements is also working. It said memberships to those plans gained 70% year over year, while cancellations remain low.

Investors liked the news. Netflix shares opened with a jump of 14% Thursday in New York.

International productions were also behind the higher engagement for Netflix in the third quarter. The company mentioned returning seasons of "Sintonia" S4, from Brazil, "DP" S2, from Korea, and "Heartstopper" S2, from the U.K. Netflix said it's now producing or co-producing in 50 countries, as 70% of its subscribers are out of the U.S.

For the next few months, Netflix is betting on the final season of the "The Crown", the history drama on Queen Elizabeth II, the reality competition show "Squid Game", and new movies starring Julia Roberts, Chris Evans, Natalie Portman and Audra McDonald, among other titles, the company said.

The company is also introducing its 'Netflix House' in the next few years. The plan is to create physical location where fans will have live experiences related to its productions, buy merchandise and food.