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Netflix Loses Subscribers for the First Time in 10 Years, Blames Account Sharing
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Great. A paid to watch ads version 😒
Netflix lost subscribers for the first time in more than a decade in Q1 2022, according to subscriber numbers the company said during today's earnings results. Netflix is down more than 200,000 subscribers, and the losses are set to continue.
Netflix was expecting to add 2.5 million subscribers in the first quarter of 2022, but did not hit that target. The suspension of its business in Russia cost it 700,000 subscribers, and without that loss, Netflix would have added 500,000 paid global users, which is still well below its projections.
In the United States and Canada, Netflix lost 600,000 customers, due to recent pricing changes. Netflix said this subscriber loss was anticipated and in line with expectations.
In a letter to shareholders [PDF], Netflix said that revenue growth has "slowed considerably," with the company faulting "a large number of households sharing accounts" and "competition" as reasons for the drop off. Netflix estimates that its 222 million paying households are sharing with an additional 100 million households that are not being monetized.
Going forward, Netflix said that it plans to implement "more effective monetization of multi-household sharing," which suggests that Netflix will soon enact measures to prevent account sharing. Netflix in March began testing an extra payment for those who share their Netflix accounts with people outside their households.
In Netflix's current test markets of Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru, customers can pay an extra fee to share their accounts with two people outside of their household. When the test was launched, Netflix said that it was working to "understand the utility of these two features" before making changes in other countries.
Netflix has always included wording in its terms and services that prevents account usage across multiple households, but until now, the service has ignored password sharing. Netflix also recently enacted new price hikes, and a 4K streaming plan is priced at $20 per month.
It's worth noting that Netflix is the only streaming service that charges by streaming quality. In the U.S., Netflix charges $9.99 for the Basic no-HD plan that allows for streaming on a single device, $15.49 for a Standard HD plan that allows for two people to watch at the same time, and $19.99 for a Premium plan with Ultra HD streaming and support for four simultaneous viewers.
In the second quarter of 2022, Netflix is anticipating losing two million paid subscribers. To mitigate the continued losses, Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings said that in addition to addressing password sharing, the company is considering a more affordable, ad-supported plan within a year or two.
Article Link: Netflix Loses Subscribers for the First Time in 10 Years, Blames Account Sharing
Like I’ve said in previous discussions. I hope they do give customers choice. If the Netflix folks read this can thy try to make some sort of choice like this:
1. A full service paid version (no ads)
2. A cheaper paid version (some ads)
3. A free version (lots and lots of ads)
I think that’s fair …
At this point the only reason I still have Netflix is because I get it for free through my T-Mobile account. Otherwise outside of a couple of good shows here and there, it’s just not worth the money anymore.
wish they would release disks for midnight mass and Stranger things season 3. I'd love to finish up stranger things, and get physical releases of all of MF show's movies and then be done with it.
Or maybe The cost of living crisis in the UK is meaning many are cancelling unnecessary things such as streaming services. https://apple.news/AYcgW-rGQSAOTe7uXFmv-bg
I’m sure it’s similar across the pond.
Also putting the price up is going to lose custom as well.
(Surely it’s better having 1million people paying 10per month rather than 500k paying 15per month?)
People share accounts cause it’s free. the free users aren’t going to suddenly start paying for something they’ve had for free? I know plenty of Family’s sharing accounts - only share them as it’s free.
I don’t think it has a detrimental affect, actually it could be the opposite.
As if you have a family of 5 sharing an account, all 5 of them could watch something and through word of mouth tell others who will seek to watch it.
Plus the market is becoming saturated with streaming services. (How many are there now… each with “exclusives”)
I’m sure it’s similar across the pond.
Also putting the price up is going to lose custom as well.
(Surely it’s better having 1million people paying 10per month rather than 500k paying 15per month?)
People share accounts cause it’s free. the free users aren’t going to suddenly start paying for something they’ve had for free? I know plenty of Family’s sharing accounts - only share them as it’s free.
I don’t think it has a detrimental affect, actually it could be the opposite.
As if you have a family of 5 sharing an account, all 5 of them could watch something and through word of mouth tell others who will seek to watch it.
Plus the market is becoming saturated with streaming services. (How many are there now… each with “exclusives”)
Inflation is going to affect services like this sooner or later. With summer on the horizon I figure streaming services will take a hit this year since we‘re not all locked up in our homes, but we all have less money in our pockets. These things are easy to cancel For a short time.
I canceled when the canceled Cowboy Bebop. They always cancel the shows I like.
Netflix lost subscribers for the first time in more than a decade in Q1 2022, according to subscriber numbers the company said during today's earnings results. Netflix is down more than 200,000 subscribers, and the losses are set to continue.
Netflix was expecting to add 2.5 million subscribers in the first quarter of 2022, but did not hit that target. The suspension of its business in Russia cost it 700,000 subscribers, and without that loss, Netflix would have added 500,000 paid global users, which is still well below its projections.
In the United States and Canada, Netflix lost 600,000 customers, due to recent pricing changes. Netflix said this subscriber loss was anticipated and in line with expectations.
In a letter to shareholders [PDF], Netflix said that revenue growth has "slowed considerably," with the company faulting "a large number of households sharing accounts" and "competition" as reasons for the drop off. Netflix estimates that its 222 million paying households are sharing with an additional 100 million households that are not being monetized.
Going forward, Netflix said that it plans to implement "more effective monetization of multi-household sharing," which suggests that Netflix will soon enact measures to prevent account sharing. Netflix in March began testing an extra payment for those who share their Netflix accounts with people outside their households.
In Netflix's current test markets of Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru, customers can pay an extra fee to share their accounts with two people outside of their household. When the test was launched, Netflix said that it was working to "understand the utility of these two features" before making changes in other countries.
Netflix has always included wording in its terms and services that prevents account usage across multiple households, but until now, the service has ignored password sharing. Netflix also recently enacted new price hikes, and a 4K streaming plan is priced at $20 per month.
It's worth noting that Netflix is the only streaming service that charges by streaming quality. In the U.S., Netflix charges $9.99 for the Basic no-HD plan that allows for streaming on a single device, $15.49 for a Standard HD plan that allows for two people to watch at the same time, and $19.99 for a Premium plan with Ultra HD streaming and support for four simultaneous viewers.
In the second quarter of 2022, Netflix is anticipating losing two million paid subscribers. To mitigate the continued losses, Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings said that in addition to addressing password sharing, the company is considering a more affordable, ad-supported plan within a year or two.
Article Link: Netflix Loses Subscribers for the First Time in 10 Years, Blames Account Sharing
I believe it's still illegal no matter how you try to justify it. Netflix has a reasonable alternative that would help you share an account.
It’s amazing how so many commentators on here think they have the inside scoop to Netflix’s data and can project their expert opinions on why subscriptions fell short
Lets say that happens. If Apple Buys Disney they'll take a huge beating. But right now, Netflix is taking hits from the richest US companies lol if im Netflix id rather they merge to have less of a competition LOL
Sharing Netflix passwords has been a thing since they first started streaming. What has not survived is the wide selection of quality and rare content.
Agree! The streaming model also a problem. Especially for Netflix that releases entire shows. The smart and or limited budget consumer, will have high churn numbers. That is, sign on a streaming service, binge watch shows, sign
off from the service. If they rotate between streaming services, a significant savings and still watch the shows they want. Netflix has more significant problems then password sharing.
The subscriber loss has absolutely nothing to do with Netflix constantly increasing their prices. \s
People have always shared their Netflix accounts, that didn’t just change. That sharing might actually create loyalty. If you are sharing the account with someone you may not want to cancel arbitrarily.
People have always shared their Netflix accounts, that didn’t just change. That sharing might actually create loyalty. If you are sharing the account with someone you may not want to cancel arbitrarily.
I’ve been a Netflix user since 2012. I’ve never shared my password, though I do have my account logged in on all three of my home TVs. This month I cancelled. It’s now $20 a month for the 4K option and I find I don’t watch it enough anymore to justify that price every month. I’ll do one month here and there to binge-watch the handful of series I’m curious about.
The whole reason I got rid of cable was to avoid ridiculous bills, but between this, Hulu, etc. I was already back up to like $70 a month.
The whole reason I got rid of cable was to avoid ridiculous bills, but between this, Hulu, etc. I was already back up to like $70 a month.
Yeah, but they still lost 600K customers in the US and Canada. Which is maybe fine, given that everyone they didn't lose is now paying a lot more.
There's no law against it. If you just mean their ToS, it's unclear. They say you can't share "outside your household."
As small as this sample group is, the steep and frequent price increase seems consistent though. Inflation has hit hard every where for all good and services and such an exclusively luxurious pricing point certainly will be under consideration when worrying about petrol hikes, gas, electricity and rental pricing.
Netflix, certainly won't issue statements, that they're losing subscribes due to their multiple and steep pricing increase and poor offerings as being the primary causative factor.
Two issues —
1. Account sharing — this is unethical. It is essentially stealing. People have tried to justify bad behavior since the beginning of time.
2. Increased pricing — they have continued to increase the pricing gap between them and their competitors. This will naturally drive some users away.
3. No discounted annual plan
Is #2 a reaction to #1, or is it the other way around? Would #3 fix the problem, or just increase the possibility of #1?
Just as in retail, shoplifting contributes to the increase in prices — I would imagine account sharing contributes to increased subscription costs. The solution in retail is to either stop selling the product, or to put a barrier between the product and the consumer. The latter option can reduce sales, but you still come out ahead in most cases.
1. Account sharing — this is unethical. It is essentially stealing. People have tried to justify bad behavior since the beginning of time.
2. Increased pricing — they have continued to increase the pricing gap between them and their competitors. This will naturally drive some users away.
3. No discounted annual plan
Is #2 a reaction to #1, or is it the other way around? Would #3 fix the problem, or just increase the possibility of #1?
Just as in retail, shoplifting contributes to the increase in prices — I would imagine account sharing contributes to increased subscription costs. The solution in retail is to either stop selling the product, or to put a barrier between the product and the consumer. The latter option can reduce sales, but you still come out ahead in most cases.
Typically I get Netflix for a few months then get rid of it for several months, perhaps a year or more, while I wait for them to add new material which I’m interested in. It usually only takes 3 or 4 months to go through all the material I want to see.
Allowing customers who don’t even live in the same household to share a membership is just plain stupid on Netflix’s part. I see a lot of posts here supporting that rip off, but it is wrong IMO. Don’t be cheap, pay for what you steal! No other streaming service that I use seems to allow that, so I don’t blame them for finally cracking down. But Netflix is losing customers mostly due to not having enough good material. However, they still have way more watchable material than Apple+, but with Apple One, I get Apple+ and extra iCloud storage and Apple Music for about the same as it cost me for Netflix premium with 4K. So Netflix needs to offer 4K streaming for a lot less than $20/mo.
Allowing customers who don’t even live in the same household to share a membership is just plain stupid on Netflix’s part. I see a lot of posts here supporting that rip off, but it is wrong IMO. Don’t be cheap, pay for what you steal! No other streaming service that I use seems to allow that, so I don’t blame them for finally cracking down. But Netflix is losing customers mostly due to not having enough good material. However, they still have way more watchable material than Apple+, but with Apple One, I get Apple+ and extra iCloud storage and Apple Music for about the same as it cost me for Netflix premium with 4K. So Netflix needs to offer 4K streaming for a lot less than $20/mo.
That's honestly overstating things. They've got pretty good stuff, better than the HBO Max I get for free with AT&T. But repeated price increases have surely caused many people to drop their subscriptions.
That, and a culture of people who think all art should be free, which is why they shared accounts in the first place.
It’s not like people can’t afford $5-$10/month. They just don’t want to pay.
Hahahahahahaha! Exactly as I predicted after the last price increase.
Netflix fails to realize that a LARGE percentage of its customers were in the habit of paying the monthly fee but NOT regularly using the service. Once prices rose above the "pain point", many of those customers (including me) told Netflix to go pound sand!
Now Netflix has itself trapped between a rock and a hard place! The death will be slow, but painful.
Mark
Netflix fails to realize that a LARGE percentage of its customers were in the habit of paying the monthly fee but NOT regularly using the service. Once prices rose above the "pain point", many of those customers (including me) told Netflix to go pound sand!
Now Netflix has itself trapped between a rock and a hard place! The death will be slow, but painful.
Mark
English is not my first language so if I understand properly the problem is that we don’t live on the same address even if I’m paying for 4 users, but if we were to live together it would not be an issue? Hopefully they don’t get rid of this, I doubt we would pay more to watch SD content
Ha ha, you've got a tough crowd, Netflix. They think it's ok to illegally share accounts if they're not satisfied with your service.
On the other hand, if someone pays for 4 screens to get the 4k and lets 1 relative share that account... they're at most ever using 2 screens. And yes that's 2 different abodes, but it's hard for me to think Netflix is being hard done by. If that person is cheating Netflix for 1 screen, Netflix is also cheating that person by making him pay 4 screens (3 of which he obviously won't ever use) to get 4k content. If Netflix let that person subscribe for 1 screen, he might do that and then not have screens to share. Netflix has a solution which would immediately work: create 1-screen 4k subscription tier.