After years of conquering users at high speed, streaming giant Netflix lost 200,000 subscribers worldwide in the first quarter compared to the end of 2021, the first in more than a decade. And he expects to lose even more in the spring. The news sent the stock plummeting by 25% on Tuesday, during electronic trading after the closing of the New York Stock Exchange. passwords, which allow many people not to pay for access to the platform, and to invest ever more in the production of content so as not to give up too much ground to the competition, such as Disney+, which has been a hit since its launch end of 2019. Reed Hastings, the company’s co-founder, said at the analyst call: “We know that [la perte d’abonnés, ndlr] is disappointing for our investors, and it’s disappointing of course, but […] we are determined to achieve these goals and get back into their good graces.”Netflix had inflated numbers during the Covid-19 pandemic. The market was expecting a correction, but not as strong. expected to gain an additional 2.5 million subscribers — and analysts were expecting even more — but instead lost some, bringing its total down to 221.64 million subscribers. suspension of the service in Russia, which resulted in a net loss of 700,000 subscriptions. “Without this impact, we would have had 500,000 additional subscriptions” compared to the last quarter, specified Netflix in its press release. of accountsNetflix estimates that more than 100 million households don’t pay for subscriptions.”We just need to make sure they’re at least partially paying for the service they love,” Reed Hastings said. group launched tests in South American countries to charge its customers for adding additional profiles to their account. The platform plans to install this system in its main markets within a year. “We are not trying to prevent people from sharing, but we will ask you to pay a little more to do so,” summarized Greg Peters, the director of operations. The company does not want to affect another measure, that of “engagement”, that is to say the time spent by users watching films and series. On this side, “we are doing very well”, assured general manager Ted Sarandos, referring to a successful film and series: “We need to have an Adam Project and a Bridgerton every month so that the service is all the time to match expectations.”Robert Cantwell of Upholdings notes, “Their streaming market share remains incredibly high, which puts the company in a good position to battle against the competition.”In the United States, Netflix attracts 73.8% of video-on-demand service users, second only to YouTube (95.8%) and ahead of Amazon (63.8%), according to eMarketer. But tech behemoths like Amazon and Apple can “broadcast their content at a loss,” says Robert Cantwell. i.e. almost 10% more than a year ago, in particular thanks to the increase in the number of subscribers over one year (+6.7%) and the increase in its prices. But the company saw its net profit drop to $1.6 billion, from $1.7 billion in the first quarter of 2021. It now plans to offer cheaper subscriptions, with advertising, within the next year or two. . Reed Hastings notes, “It’s definitely working for Hulu. […] If you want the ad-free option, it will still be possible. If you prefer to pay less and are tolerant of ads, there will be an offer for you too. acquired its first video game studio, Night School Studio, a Californian start-up, and in November launched several mobile games for its subscribers, including some inspired by the universe of the sci-fi and horror series Stranger Things. The CFO also announced that spending growth will have to slow down, both for content and for other budgets.
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