Netflix loses fewer subscribers than expected

Netflix loses fewer subscribers than expected
Credit: Belga / Jasper Jacobs

Netflix lost 970,000 subscribers between the first and second quarters, rather than the two million it expected, the streaming giant announced on Tuesday. It expects to regain some of its losses this summer.

The service now has 220.67 million subscribers worldwide, but was disappointed in April when it admitted to losing subscribers for the first time in a decade during the first quarter of 2022. The loss was partly attributed to losing subscribers in the Russian market after  Netflix suspended services there due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The news appeared to reassure investors, as Netflix's stocks rose over 8% after the New York Stock Exchange closed on Tuesday.

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With a turnover of $7.97 billion from April to June, the results were lower than expected, which the company put down to an unfavourable exchange rate. However, it made $ 1.44 billion in net profit, which was better than expected.

It plans to regain one million subscribers in the third quarter and reach 221.67 million paying subscribers, a figure at the low end of its expectations in 2021.

New subscription models

However, the streaming giant is looking into limiting password sharing outside of households. In several Latin American countries, Netflix now charges the equivalent of €3 more for sharing an account with a user living outside the household.

The streaming service has indicated that it is considering a range of billing methods, before it will apply a different fee structure to all its subscribers.

Netflix executives announced in April that they intend to offer a cheaper subscription model, which will contain adds, after years of refusing this fee model.

Last week, the company added that a new subscription structure will include three options (essential, standard and premium), with the cheapest for $10 per month in the US.

The loss of subscribers has resulted in layoffs, with over 400 employees fired in the past quarter, mostly in the US.


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