Netflix Loses More Subscribers For The Second Quarter In a Row

It’s easy to believe that it’s the beginning of the end of the world’s most popular streaming service. At the end of the second quarter of 2022, Netflix announced that it had lost 970,000 subscribers. This increases the loss of their subscriber base, especially as they lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter.

This number loss doesn’t surprise Netflix, as the service had predicted a 2 million subscriber decline in Q2 during its 2022 Q1 financial report, but it is concerning for stakeholders nonetheless. The bulk of the subscriber loss came from Netflix’s biggest markets, Canada and the US, where Netflix had hiked subscription prices.

Some other reasons listed by Netflix as possible reasons for this decline are Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and an increase in password sharing.

To protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Netflix suspended its services to its Russian customers, leading to a 700,000 subscriber loss. 

Netflix had announced that it was testing new ways to reduce password sharing among its users as password sharing violated its Terms of Service. The company added that subscribers that shared their passwords would be charged extra fees. This, however, was received poorly by its users.

Another reason for this decline is the growth of rival streaming services like Disney+, Apple TV, HBO Max, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video. Some subscribers also see Netflix’s content as ‘sub-par’, which is why many users continue to cancel their subscriptions as their expectations aren’t met.

Despite this significant decline in numbers, Netflix predicts growth in Q3. The service hopes to up its subscriber base by 1 million subscribers. 

To achieve this, the service plans to introduce ads to its platform with a partnership with Microsoft as its technology advertising and sales partner. And to deal with the challenge of password sharing, Netflix announced the testing of a new feature, ‘add a home’ in some countries in preparation for worldwide adoption. 

 “We know this will be a change for our members,” the service said in a statement. “Our goal is to find an easy-to-use paid sharing offering that we believe works for our members and business that we can roll out in 2023.”