By: Katie Scott, Business Reporter
Netflix has announced it has lost 200,000 paying customers since the beginning of 2022 and this figure could reach two million by the end of June. The news caused the streaming service’s value to plummet by $50 billion and, reported the BBC, saw American investor, William Ackman, get rid of his $1.1bn investment despite a loss of more than $400m.
The company boasts 222 million paid memberships in over 190 countries, however, TheWrap reports it has already taken evasive action. A crackdown on password sharing is imminent; executives have been laid off and shows cancelled with Netflix Animation being one of the hardest hit areas of the business. Amongst the projects dumped was an animated adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Twits, according to Tech Radar.
Reuters is pointing to the company’s decision to suspend services in Russia as a contributing factor; as well as stiff competition. It added: “Since it [Netflix] warned in January of weak subscriber growth, the company has lost nearly half of its value.”
Netflix, and other companies including Peloton, gained huge followings during the Pandemic whilst people were mandated to stay at home. The Financial Times commented: “Streaming companies such as Netflix and Disney Plus hovered up huge numbers of subscribers during the 2020 lockdowns, but a return to more normal routines has hit growth just as they are spending billions of dollars on content to attract and keep viewers.”
