Netflix lost nearly a million subscribers in the last quarter
Netflix warned that it could lose more subscribers in the second quarter of this year than in the first, and that prediction came true, although it wasn't as bad as feared. The streaming service said it lost nearly a million subscribers (970,000 to be exact) in the second quarter. That's far more than the 200,000 member decline seen in Q1, but not quite as grim as the 2 million Netflix was ready to part ways with.
The company attributed the slightly better result to "better than expected" subscriber growth, particularly in regions like Asia-Pacific. The company still made a net profit of $1.44 billion despite a shrinking customer base and unfavorable exchange values for the US dollar. Hostile exchange rates are a particularly difficult problem when nearly 60% of revenue comes from outside the country, Netflix said.
Media giant expects Q3 turnaround, albeit slow. It now projects that it will add 1 million net subscribers. While that's a far cry from the 4.4 million Netflix added a year earlier, it's a marked improvement over the past six months. Stranger Things 4's strong start could help: the nostalgic show is now the most-watched English TV season on Netflix to date, with over 1.3 billion hours watched.
Netflix's recovery plan will sound familiar. The company is still pinning its hopes on a low-cost ad-supported tier expected in early 2023, and plans to launch it in a "handful of markets" where ad spend is already significant. The service also plans to combat account sharing and is experimenting with ideas that include charging for additional homes. The completed sharing system could also be deployed in 2023.
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Netflix warned that it could lose more subscribers in the second quarter of this year than in the first, and that prediction came true, although it wasn't as bad as feared. The streaming service said it lost nearly a million subscribers (970,000 to be exact) in the second quarter. That's far more than the 200,000 member decline seen in Q1, but not quite as grim as the 2 million Netflix was ready to part ways with.
The company attributed the slightly better result to "better than expected" subscriber growth, particularly in regions like Asia-Pacific. The company still made a net profit of $1.44 billion despite a shrinking customer base and unfavorable exchange values for the US dollar. Hostile exchange rates are a particularly difficult problem when nearly 60% of revenue comes from outside the country, Netflix said.
Media giant expects Q3 turnaround, albeit slow. It now projects that it will add 1 million net subscribers. While that's a far cry from the 4.4 million Netflix added a year earlier, it's a marked improvement over the past six months. Stranger Things 4's strong start could help: the nostalgic show is now the most-watched English TV season on Netflix to date, with over 1.3 billion hours watched.
Netflix's recovery plan will sound familiar. The company is still pinning its hopes on a low-cost ad-supported tier expected in early 2023, and plans to launch it in a "handful of markets" where ad spend is already significant. The service also plans to combat account sharing and is experimenting with ideas that include charging for additional homes. The completed sharing system could also be deployed in 2023.
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you purchase something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
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