Netflix Revenue, Subscriber Totals Soar in First Quarter

Netflix apparently played its Cards right with its biggest foray into original content yet.

The streaming giant exceeded analysts’ expectations by generating north of $1 billion in revenenu in 2013’s first quarter, according to TheWrap.com. The numbers coincide with the high profile debute of House of Cards, the Kevin Spacey-led political drama which apparently helped boost the company’s subscribers by more than 3 million new members.

The company still faces streaming competition from Redbox and Amazon Prime, but Netflix has the eagerly awaited new season of Arrested Development ready to roll starting next month. It also just launched a new horror series, Hemlock Grove, from Hostel director Eli Roth.