Netflix Loses Record Number of Subscribers

For a long time, it seemed as if Netflix was the king of all streaming services. However, it turns out that just in this quarter in 2022, Netflix lost 200,000 global subscribers, not including those in Russia. This is one of the first times that Netflix has lost subscribers in one quarter in 10 years. While this number may not seem like as much compared to the total number of subscribers, the company forecasts that it will also lose another 2 million “global net paid additions over the three months ending in June” (The Street). 

Aside from losing subscribers, the company’s stock has dropped 35%. Experts claim that such a downfall traces to several factors that are essentially beyond the company’s control. Some of these range from inflation that forces customers to withdraw, Netflix removing its service in Russia, something that alone has fed it to reduce 700,000 customers. What experts postulate, however, is the increased competition in the streaming market, something that serves as a major contender.

Several other services have captured the public’s attention. Just Apple+’s “Ted Lasso” and Disney+’s “The Mandalorian” are some examples of shows that the public is driven towards. Netflix has been unable to provide similar hits in recent years, something that has caused a decrease in their popularity. 

Many other streaming services used to license their files and series to Netflix. However, they had realized that their collective actions were creating one of the biggest competitors. As a result, most companies have been opening up their own productions and services that feature their own channels. This can be seen in Disney+, Apple TV, Hulu, etc. 

When asked about potential solutions, Co-CEO and chief content officer Ted Sarandos says that “we’ve got to figure out these different models that we’re doing now to more efficiently monetize the viewing.” (Variety). Co-CEO Reed Hasts is exploring the launching of lower cost, ad-supported stream plan options, something which next has been pitted against for a long time. He also mentions that cracking down on password sharing will help Netflix bring in subscribers that it technically has.