After years of unbridled growth that has rocked and forced Hollywood to change, Netflix is coming to a halt. The streaming TV giant lost 200,000 subscribers in the first three months of the year, and expects to lose another two million in the current quarter.
The shocking announcement sinks Netflix titles on Wall Street, where in after hours trading it comes to lose 24% also thanks to revenues and profit below expectations.
Netflix explains the first loss of subscribers since 2011 with increased competition, slow adoption of broadband and smart TVs, sharing of passwords and macroeconomic factors such as rising inflation and the invasion of Ukraine . With the war , in fact, the company suspended its service in Russia with the consequent loss of 700,000 subscriptions.
Netflix also lost 600,000 subscriptions in the US and Canada due to the recent price hike, while increases were recorded in Japan and India.
Revenue growth has "slowed significantly," Netflix says, admitting that the jump in subscribers during Covid has hinted that the 2021 slowdown was only due to the end of the lockdowns.
Netflix isn't the only streaming service that's struggling, however. Disney + is considering introducing a lower-priced subscription and with advertising to attract new subscribers. With the decline in the first quarter, Netflix now has a total of 221.6 million subscribers compared to 221.8 million in the previous three months.
(Unioneonline / vl)
