Segment Information - Information On Reportable Segments And Reconciliation To Consolidated Net Income (Details) subscription in Thousands, membership in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($) subscription membership	Sep. 30, 2018 USD ($) subscription membership	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($) subscription membership	Sep. 30, 2018 USD ($) subscription membership
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues	$ 5,244,905	$ 3,999,374	$ 14,689,013	$ 11,607,500
Cost of revenues	3,097,919	2,531,128	8,974,190	7,234,138
Marketing	553,797	510,330	1,773,525	1,639,114
Contribution profit	1,593,189	957,916	3,941,298	2,734,248
Other operating expenses	612,950	477,248	1,795,556	1,344,789
Operating income	980,239	480,668	2,145,742	1,389,459
Other income (expense)	32,084	(101,858)	(232,844)	(282,397)
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes	347,079	(24,025)	632,952	29,754
Net income	665,244	402,835	1,279,946	1,077,308
Amortization of content assets	$ 2,286,631	$ 1,921,726	$ 6,659,397	$ 5,510,675
Domestic Streaming
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total paid memberships at end of period | subscription	60,620	56,957	60,620	56,957
Total paid net membership additions (losses) | membership	517	998	2,134	4,147
Total free trials at end of period | membership	1,375	1,507	1,375	1,507
Revenues	$ 2,412,598	$ 1,937,314	$ 6,785,342	$ 5,650,555
Cost of revenues	1,210,105	1,038,473	3,546,060	2,944,948
Marketing	211,793	210,595	683,445	712,612
Contribution profit	990,700	688,246	2,555,837	1,992,995
Amortization of content assets	$ 912,793	$ 800,884	$ 2,693,598	$ 2,283,102
International Streaming
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total paid memberships at end of period | subscription	97,714	73,465	97,714	73,465
Total paid net membership additions (losses) | membership	6,255	5,070	16,941	15,631
Total free trials at end of period | membership	4,215	5,170	4,215	5,170
Revenues	$ 2,760,430	$ 1,973,283	$ 7,674,906	$ 5,676,513
Cost of revenues	1,860,021	1,455,554	5,336,032	4,169,772
Marketing	342,004	299,735	1,090,080	926,502
Contribution profit	558,405	217,994	1,248,794	580,239
Amortization of content assets	$ 1,367,184	$ 1,110,883	$ 3,942,980	$ 3,195,326
Domestic DVD
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total paid memberships at end of period | subscription	2,276	2,828	2,276	2,828
Total paid net membership additions (losses) | membership	(135)	(143)	(430)	(502)
Total free trials at end of period | membership	16	24	16	24
Revenues	$ 71,877	$ 88,777	$ 228,765	$ 280,432
Cost of revenues	27,793	37,101	92,098	119,418
Marketing	0	0	0	0
Contribution profit	44,084	51,676	136,667	161,014
Amortization of content assets	$ 6,654	$ 9,959	$ 22,819	$ 32,247