Breaking News English

Netflix has more than [doubled / double] the number of new subscribers it thought it would get this year. Netflix [makes / making] movies and TV shows, and provides a service for [subscriptions / subscribers] to watch these online. The streaming [giant / gigantic] said 15.77 million new subscribers signed [down / up] for its services in the past three months. It expected [an / a] increase of around half this number. The doubling of subscriptions is [because / due] to the coronavirus pandemic. Millions of people are staying at home and are using their free time [by / of] watching films and TV programmes. Netflix is now one of the world's most [valuable / value] companies. It is worth more than the oil giant ExxonMobil. Financial analysts say its value [be / is] around $196 billion.

A Netflix official said the [urge / surge] in membership numbers was probably temporary. The [rate / late] of new memberships would probably [going / go] down and return [to / for] normal after lockdowns end. The company said: "We expect viewing to decline and membership [grow / growth] to slow down as home confinement ends, which we hope is [finish / soon] ." It added: "The coronavirus has reached every [edge / corner] of the world and, in the absence of a widespread treatment or vaccine, no one knows how or when this terrible [crisis / critics] will end. We are aware that we are fortunate to have a service that is even [more / most] meaningful to people confined at home." The company hopes to start producing more new shows in the [nearly / near] future.