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Netflix subscribers slow after pandemic boom

"It is just a little wobbly right now" says Netflix CEO after a boom in numbers during lockdown.

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Netflix has reported a slowdown in subscriber growth, sending its shares tumbling.

About 3.98 million people signed up for Netflix globally between January and March, well short of a projected 6 million.

Netflix shares fell 11% wiping $25bn off the company’s market capitalization.

This compares to 15.8 million new subscribers last year for the same period, as Covid-19 forced people around the world to stay home.

Much of that growth came in Asia, where Netflix added 9.3 million new subscribers in 2020, an increase of about 65% over the previous year.

But the pandemic also disrupted its production pipeline and there is increased competition from the likes of Disney, Amazon Prime and more.

Netflix predicts stronger growth in the second half of this year when it releases new seasons of You, Money Heist, The Witcher and action movie Red Notice.

“We had those ten years where we were growing smooth as silk,” Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said on a streamed earnings call, according to an AFP report.

“It is just a little wobbly right now.”

Source: BBC

11 Responses

  1. Netflix know where there biggest audience growth is and that’s in Asia, this is why there is a surfeit of Korean, Chinese and other Asian language product available, I believe Netflix now have a facility in Korea to keep up with production demand.
    I don’t mind these shows though the stories can be repetitive, but I would imagine that Netflix will need to keep their feature content coming to keep all subscribers happy, especially in Australia.

  3. It quite clearly needs just ‘loads more’ regional content and fan stuff you can escape with like Ted Lasso on Netflix rather than more stuff on Murderers. Also overall their documentaries need to be more balanced and less about a guy seeking out an argument and turning up uninvited at a business reception. They feel amature and self-intitled these documentaries, and overall discredit decent well-researched films in thier catalogue.

  4. Is it me or has netflix increased the price, at least for the middle plan from $14.99 to $16.99? Not too far away from the $20 margin for the 2nd tier plan per momth and getting real expensive. There are only a certain amount of $$$’s around people will spend on streaming services per month, something will surely give at some point.

  6. “We had those ten years where we were growing smooth as silk,”
    That was 10 years of offering other companies content. Now they make their own content which as already mentioned they cancel after 1 or 2 seasons but I think the real problem is that their own content is too preachy telling you how to live your life. You watch TV to relax and escape your life you don’t want to be told you are doing everything wrong.

  7. Netflix really needs magazine like TV Week to let us know what is on and what is coming up. Even if we got an email we can print out or just scan through.

  8. I don’t think Netflix really has a great deal of interesting content. It’s the streaming service I watch least. It doesn’t help that they cancel 75% of their series after only one season.

    1. The more they cater for the masses and axe niche favourites… the more they will make shows that broadly everyone ‘Likes’ rather than shows that niche audiences ‘absolutely love’. It’s a shame, because that will bring their content offering closer to ad-funded TV, and inadvertently remove their point of difference from Commercial TV (which also aims to make show everyone in a room ‘like’ rather than shows a few people in a room ‘Love’).

  9. Disney is quite smart in dropping only one episode a week. If Grey’s Anatomy had a full season this year I’d be keeping my subscription for 22 weeks roughly. It also gives me something to look forward to on Friday nights (sad I know). Netflix only have that for a few titles.

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