Netflix did warn us that it might lose more subscribers in the second quarter of this year than it did in the first, and it has come to pass. The streaming service said that it lost almost 1 million subscribers (970,000 in all) in Q2. That’s more than the 200,000-member decline from Q1, but not as bad as the 2 million that Netflix was prepared to lose.
The company attributed the slightly better results to “better-than-expected” subscriber growth, especially in areas like Asia-Pacific. The company still turned a $1.44 billion net profit despite the shrinking customer base and unfavorable foreign exchange values for the US dollar. So it isn’t all bad.
Netflix is expecting a turnaround for the third quarter, even if it is a slow one. It’s predicting that it will add a net 1 million subscribers. This would be an improvement over the past six months. The strong start for Stranger Things 4 could surely help. It is Netflix’s most-watched season of English TV to date with over 1.3 billion hours of viewing thus far.
The company is still planning a lower-priced ad-supported tier in early 2023, and expects to launch it in a “handful of markets” where there’s already strong ad spending right now. They will also fight account sharing by experimenting with ideas that include charging for additional homes. This could also come in 2023.
Source Engadget
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