For booming Netflix, 1Q was House of Cash

Nearly 5 million subscribers added in first 3 months.

Netflix is enthralling viewers and investors alike as popular original programming such as “House of Cards” lures subscribers at a quickening pace.

Netflix said Wednesday that it gained 4.9 million subscribers in the first three months of the year, more than any other quarter since the video-streaming service’s debut eight years ago. About 2.3 million of the new customers were in the U.S., where Netflix’s subscriber count surpassed 40 million for the first time.

The results were better than management had anticipated. Netflix had been hoping to add about 4 million subscribers in the quarter. The compa- ny is on such a roll that it now expects to add another 2.5 million subscribers during the AprilJune quarter, traditionally its slowest time of year.

Netflix’s big quarter coincided with the return of “House of Cards,” an Emmy-winning political drama starring Kevin Spacey as a conniving U.S. president. The February release of the series’ third season attracted more viewers than ever, Netflix said.

Original programming is becoming increasingly important for Netflix as it faces more competition from other services, including an Internet-only option that payTV channel HBO recently started selling this month for $15 per month. That price is well above Netflix’s streaming service, which typically costs $9 per month.

All told, Netflix ended March with 62.3 million subscribers.