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I doubt most of the subscription loss is attributable to reasons that most HN types go on about (the rants about wokeness, not enough scifi, carousel UI, pirati

by danans 5y ago

I doubt most of the subscription loss is attributable to reasons that most HN types go on about (the rants about wokeness, not enough scifi, carousel UI, pirating etc...). What's probably going on is after after a few years of pandemic isolation and Netflix binging, the arrival of pandemic triggered inflation, and overall higher employment rates, people just have less interest, time, and money to binge watch longer form content. Many are probably consuming shorter form content (like TikTok), or enjoying more time in public. We economize by scrutinizing our spending of both money and time. When we feel we have less of both of those, streaming services are an obvious "nice to have" for a lot of people that can be cut from their lives with minimal feeling of loss, especially since it can be substituted with fulfilling time spent with other people. Also, if you're paying an extra $150 a month for energy utilities and gasoline, it kind of makes sense that you might cancel a streaming service that you watch once or twice a week. These days the time I spent on streaming services during the pandemic is more likely than ever to be spent having a beer on a neighbor's porch (with them of course!).

dv_dt 5y ago
Especially if the streaming service tells you it's going to raise prices and crack down on password sharing. It's bringing the customer's attention to the subscription service at exactly the wrong time. Edit: missed a "the"
- hackernewds 5y ago
  Best thing a subscription service can do is not remind me that I'm subscribed. The constant price increases were poorly planned, against the lack of good content - since Stranger Things and House of Cards can't recall much attaining that level of vitality (besides maybe Squid Games)
jeffbee 5y ago
Especially since there is not even enough good content on Netflix to fill 1-2 hours per week. The article nails the central issue: the shows on Netflix are not good.
- phillipcarter 5y ago
  Yes, that's largely it. Many of the shows, especially newer ones, are actually just kinda trash. Why pay for trash? Not to mention the raised prices and cracking down on password sharing.
andrew_ 5y ago
I had been a Netflix for customer for 10 years. For me personally, it's a combination of several of the reasons you cast doubt on. While I may not be in the majority, I am real and those reasons (which I shall not list, to avoid HN wrath) were attributed to my cancellation.
- hackernewds 5y ago
  Same
- danans 5y ago
  Your reasons are totally real and you are entitled to them, but in the context of subscriber loss in the 100s of thousands probably marginal.
  - soperj 5y ago
    They actually gained subscribers in the western world still, but lost in total because of all Russian accounts were terminated.
    - MrMan 5y ago
      yes lets talk about the actual reason for god sake. it was hugely due to Russia
      - malfist 5y ago
        The issue isn't necessarily that they lost users this time, even though that's what all the headlines are about. They projected continued losses of subscribers, even after the one time event with russia is through.
      - brimble 5y ago
        Russia's why it was a net loss, but not why they missed their projection so badly.
      - bombcar 5y ago
noncoml 5y ago
(inappropriate)
- danans 5y ago
  Pure software engineer, actually.
  - noncoml 5y ago
    Sorry. It was tongue in cheek and not appropriate. Deleted.
lock-the-spock 5y ago
Constant price increases with stronger competition (Disney+) - my downgraded subscription is more expensive than what I paid two years ago...
serial_dev 5y ago
I didn't cancel Netflix yet (have been thinking about it as I find that sometimes I just watch it for hours, and it's kind of a waste of life). I can say for sure, if they introduce ads, I'm leaving, I won't pay for watching ads, sorry.
- conception 5y ago
  They've said they are introducing a reduced subscription fee with ads, not adding ads.
  - grogenaut 5y ago
    Given their price increases they'll be at $15/month on the ad supported tier soon
    - thewebcount 5y ago
      I generally avoid any service that even has an ad-supported tier because in my experience it starts out as "ads are to subsidize the cost for people who can't afford or don't want to pay for the premium service." Then it becomes, "We're contractually obligated to have ads in certain shows regardless of which tier the viewer is, but they won't show up in others, and they'll be short and unobtrusive." Then it's "We're keeping rates low by having ads in all show, but they're ads that are relevant and very short, and only at the beginning and/or end of the show." Then it becomes "We're removing the premium tier because not enough people signed up for it. Also the ads are going to be longer and more intrusive now." Forget it. I can just skip the whole thing and lose nothing. If you even have an ad-supported tier, I'm out.
      - bombcar 5y ago
        Advertisers also don't want to advertise to those "too cheap to pay to avoid ads". They want to everyone, or the premier tiers. It's a conflict that can never be resolved.
        5y ago
strangattractor 5y ago
I would tend to agree. Another factor is that people have choices now. There are other public streaming companies which gives investors something to compare to. When you are out there on your own the sky is the limit for stock price. Now it's why should more for a premium for X when Y is growing faster etc.
ghaff 5y ago
A lot of the "pandemic stocks" have taken a real pounding. For me, Netflix content is "OK" overall. But so is content on most of the other streaming services. And I don't really watch a huge amount of video so it makes sense for me to pick a few services and maybe dip in and out. Netflix is probably the one delivering the least bang for the buck to me right now so I'll probably watch a few things and drop it at some point.
sschueller 5y ago
Instead of increasing every one's pricing they should have added a FOMO tier giving people early access to new content before anyone else. Additionally to get people to think twice before unsubscribing increase the price for new subscribers but keep existing subs at the lower rate. You cancel you can't get that rate back.
- bombcar 5y ago
  FOMO vs resolution would have been brilliant, and grandfathering in is a great way to keep people around (even if you do something like bump them up in cost later, but still cheaper than everyone new).
ozzythecat 5y ago
I cancelled because it’s not worth the time investment. Good shows are not only difficult to find, but Netflix will release a season or two and unreasonably no longer continue on, without closing out the story. They try to cater to a mass audience and use a large net, but then due to capital costs or whatever reasons, they force their customer to feel stupid for getting invested into a show in the first place. I miss the days where I could binge watch a series on release date. Now all the streaming services also seem to rate limit each episode to once a week. All the qualities that drew me into streaming have slowly faded away.
- _jal 5y ago
  This. I cancelled it when they raised their prices, it made me think about how much I watch things on there. Which was rarely - my guess was around 1 show/month on average. > Now all the streaming services also seem to rate limit each episode to once a week. Yeah, screw that noise. Torrents are still their primary competitor, and the operative issue is not cost, it is convenience.
- giords 5y ago
  I totally agree. Overall the quality just dropped dramatically and what made Netflix great is disappearing.
- jaywalk 5y ago
  Entire seasons being released at once was such a massive positive for streaming. The fact that they're moving away from that just to boost numbers is very disappointing.
  - zanellato19 5y ago
    I disagree. The wait and the suspense it builds and the talking between friends is amazing. People surging ahead leads to a difficulty in conversation that week-to-week episodes do not.
    - azinman2 5y ago
sjtindell 5y ago
Even introducing the the pandemic and inflation into it at all seems off base to me. There simply isn't an infinite number of people in the world who have the time, money, and broadband access to watch Netflix. They're nearing or have reached the peak of people who can use their product. That makes sense to me.
NearAP 5y ago
I agree. - I recently realized I had only turned on my TV just about 4 - 5 times in about 6 months and yet I was paying close to $140 per month, so I downgraded my cable subscription to the minimal (combined cable & internet is cheaper than only internet). - Also realized I rarely watched Netflix (hadn't watched in months) cos I no longer found shows that I liked and I was paying $15.49 per month. And then I saw HBO Max was $9.99 a month. So I canceled Netflix and signed on to HBO Max. There's also the psychological part that HBO Max allows me to pay for the whole year upfront (Netflix doesn't) so I can close my eyes and just pay them $100 and be done with it. - I also realized I rarely have time to watch long form content except for weekends. This is one advantage that Amazon Prime has - apart from it being 'free' to me since I already paid for prime, I can rent movies for $2.99 for those few times that I need to be 'entertained'. Maybe I spend $6 in one month and $0 in others. It's still better than $15.49 (or $140) without watching at all. - It's possible that lots of people have a variation of these reasons. I understand that Netflix had to raise their prices given how much they were spending on content. It looks to me like they 'overspent' on content without taking into consideration that they would have to recoup the cost from increased subscription fees and this might not be palatable to their members given that there are now multiple alternatives
- ghaff 5y ago
  I think a lot of people have become conditioned to monthly subscriptions that they don't need to think about. But, especially if you're more into films than TV shows, there's something to be said for cutting back on subscriptions and buying/renting a la carte. Netflix still even has their DVD by mail option although the back catalog isn't nearly as good as it used to be.
  - capitainenemo 5y ago
    Yep. It even has an android app. And I agree, the catalog has more holes than it used to. Still more content than the streaming service though.
- greggman3 5y ago
  > There's also the psychological part that HBO Max allows me to pay for the whole year upfront (Netflix doesn't) so I can close my eyes and just pay them $100 and be done with it. Interesting. My behavior has been that when someone recommends a show on Netflix and I decide I want to watch it it subscribe and cancel which means I pay for 1 month. I watch the show. I've tried browsing for others but hate browsing on Netflix. I'm happy that "I'm done with it" immediately and that I'm not billed anymore. Netflix makes it super easy to start again, and to cancel and also like that having it cancelled provides a tiny hurdle against binging random stuff.
martibravo 5y ago
I have been a Netflix customer for 5+ years, and I've switched services to Disney+ for two reasons: - Netflix with 4K and 4 streaming devices costs 17.99€ here ($19.50), while Disney+ only costs €8.99 with the same features. - Netflix made and continues to make good content, but since major producers have been removing their content from Netflix and into their own services, Netflix here almost survives on old local shows and new in-house content. Feels like there's almost nothing new to watch. I have rewatched Gilmore Girls 4 times. Disney+ gets you Marvel, Disney, Pixar, FOX, NatGeo, StarWars, Star (lots of ABC content) -Netflix decided to crackdown on password-sharing: my brother moved away some months ago and has been using our Netflix account, and we don't want him to pay Netflix for himself. -There have been some rumors of ads on the platform to boost revenue. Hell to the no.
- bumby 5y ago
  >There have been some rumors of ads on the platform to boost revenue. It's been stated elsewhere here but worth reiterating: the current description of this idea is to give customers the option to have ads in exchange for a lower overall subscription cost and not just shoehorn them into the existing plans. At least that's the stated intent. I can definitely see where it can lead to a slippery slope where it's easier to just give ads to everyone when they need another revenue bump.
  - htrp 5y ago
    That's how it starts..... it ends with you paying for ad free hulu and wondering how you're still watching unskippable ads.
  - snickerbockers 5y ago
    theres also a high probability of misinformed (or well-informed but adversarial) twitter users getting #CancelNetflix to trend because people will only read the headlines and not understand that they wont be seeing ads unless they want to save money.
    - ghaff 5y ago
bcassedy 5y ago
I haven't canceled yet but am considering it. They have a few problems for me - They don't make it easy to discover content. They still have quite a lot of good original content that isn't promoted and a slew of third party things that aren't promoted or discoverable at all unless they happen to make the trending list The majority of their original, promoted content is watered down crap designed for mass appeal. For TV shows, when they do produce something of quality they often dump it if it doesn't find an audience immediately or it doesn't drive "new subscribers". Leaving a bunch of stories half told doesn't give me the confidence that it's worth the investment to start on their new content. This is especially problematic because it is a vicious cycle where since they aggressively cancel stuff that isn't performing, people don't invest their time in new stuff because of the expectation it gets canceled, means more new stuff underperforms, leading to more cancelations, and further eroding the trust of viewers. It's also negatively impacted by poor discoverability. Their UI is seemingly optimized to shove their latest broad appeal stuff in my face and seems to deliberately make it hard to find anything else.
- supertofu 5y ago
  The Netflix UI is so unfortunate. I KNOW they have the ability to recommend me interesting content, but instead they just peddle whatever their latest original content. Also the browsing experience is hellish. It's barely possible to even search by genre.
  - tricky777 5y ago
    the worst crime, is suggesting series which I just finished watching. wtf. I know that its technically good for their bottom line if I watch same thing twice (twice the revenue for the same cost), but that ia so frustrating, when trying to find something to watch.
- carbine 5y ago
  > The majority of their original, promoted content is watered down crap designed for mass appeal. this has 100% been the reason my time spent on Netflix has gone down. seems like everything they make is algo-optimizing shlock designed to appeal to the average consumer.
wrycoder 5y ago
Yeah, I need to make room for all my new Substack subscriptions, and there’s nothing on Netflix Streaming that I want to watch, anyway. I do like their DVD service, though.
dawnbreez 5y ago
Netflix says it lost 200k subscribers--but I have to wonder, is that 200k people who were paying for a subscription, or is some percentage of that number actually people who were sharing an account, stopped watching when Netflix started threatening people who share accounts, and are now being counted as "lost subscribers" (because Netflix expected them to start a new account)?
- bombcar 5y ago
  It's fewer total subscribers. The real number is the entirety of the miss (predicted 2.5m higher subscriber numbers - 700k loss to Russia + 200k actual drop = 2m less than expected). It means new subscribers are now outnumbered by cancelling subscribers for the first time.
Tiktaalik 5y ago
I agree with this and it's likely we're going to see the same subscription dips hit other services, such as Disney+, Prime, Patreon, and more. Money is tight. People are closing their wallets. Frivolous luxury expenses are the ones that will be cut the first.
api 5y ago
I think pandemic rebound is probably part of it, but honestly I just think Netflix has gotten cheap. Whether it's in-house or licensed, "woke" or not, whatever, the quality of in-house content and the availability of outside content has really gone downhill.
johnnyanmac 5y ago
I do think that fierce competition from competing services with way more IP's to leverage is a big factor. But yes, I think in some extent the world is simply starting to open back up slowly, and this will naturally affect any industry which surged due to the pandemic. Whatever restaurants remaining will surge, indoor entertainment will deflate down a bit. And I also agree that the internet sentiment of "omg too many services, I'm just gonna pirate" is such a minor part of the equation. Social media loves overrepresenting its just world fallacy and thinking that everyone is as invested to screw over companies as they are on twitter or whatnot.
every 5y ago
We are in the process of doing something similar. My wife watches a lot of Netflix so we will be keeping that (for now). But between us there is only a single product on Google TV we watch regularly and it is going from 5 days a week to 1. And it even has a free "highlights" post on Youtube a day after broadcast. We will be cancelling next month...
the_mitsuhiko 5y ago
It's a minor thing but Netflix is also most annoying to use from many services now because they are strict on device approval. For instance most home projectors do not support Netflix. I was close to cancelling Netflix because it just does not want to work on my projector and it really is bloody annoying to use the workarounds.
Rebelgecko 5y ago
I think the demise of Netflix has been greatly overstated (although growth is slowing down) The biggest change last quarter is that Netflix went from having 700,000 customers in Russia down to 0. In other words, they actually had a net gain of 500,000 subscribers in the parts of the world where they still operate.
- graaben 5y ago
  I believe they are forecasting a loss of another 2mm subscribers in Q2.
- colinmhayes 5y ago
  A net gain of 500,000 against an expected gain of 2.5M is horrible. Don't think analysts are ignoring the Russia situation, they just realize that Netflix has much bigger problems.
lkxijlewlf 5y ago
My SO and I as well as some friends of ours (we were talking to them about it) are just subscriptioned out. We can afford it, it's not the money (though we do hate to waste money, we're not foolish). But we keep track and it's just, why do we have so many, so we decided to pare down and see what we miss and see what sticks.
vishnugupta 5y ago
Since Netflix launched in India couple of years ago I've been a subscriber. The content is strictly average. Amazon Prime and Disney + Hotstar have significantly larger, relevant, and better content. Amazon Prime gets you free shipping as well so that's there. However, I don't know to what extent Netflix are relying on India for growth. At INR 650/month it's definitely not cheap. Disney + Hotstar, at INR 1499/year is, five times less expensive.
Johnny555 5y ago
I canceled because they were raising my subscription to $19.99 (I had the UHD subscription), and I really don't watch it enough to make it worth $20/month to me. I still have Hulu, HBOMax and Disney, so in 6 months or so I'll probably drop one of those and return to Netflix to look for new content before they delete my viewing history. I've been with Netflix since when they were DVD-only, so they have a lot of history on me. I imagine that before long, the streaming providers will get tired of people rotating through and will require 1 year contracts.
tonguez 5y ago
- arbitrary_name 5y ago
  You really needed to get that off your chest huh? Go pay for a therapist, and save us your weird malformed ideology and frustrations.
  - provedhispt 5y ago
    I think you proved his point. As a non-white person, I get tired of hearing people blame white people for every other ill. Or if it’s not blame, it’s an attempt to shoehorn white supremacy as some prevailing ideology into every discussion. Netflix does this constantly in their originals. They just can’t help themselves. And the usual suspects play coy about it when anyone complains. Go see a therapist, etc. for daring to notice the constant browbeating in Netflix programming and saying anything about it. If I watch tv, it’s to escape reality, including to not get proselytized to for thirty minutes of my life.
wiremine 5y ago
Agreed. Changes in post-pandemic behavior, prices increases, more competition, arguably decrease in quality, and no long-term contracts. Doesn't seem like rocket science why they're loosing customers.
whymauri 5y ago
A key point here is TikTok and the attention economy. At a high level, the entertainment/social media industries are based on a finite resource: attention. Netflix is losing the attention of users, especially younger users, to other platforms. Then there is attention loss due to other rising streaming services. But yeah, the rate hikes are also hitting hard. Targeting account sharing more aggressively than they already do will lead to more cancellations. And the day Netflix shows me an ad, I will never use it again.
jboy55 5y ago
I've realized I have a problem, and the solution might be me cutting off Netflix? The problem? I've slowly accumulated ten streaming subscriptions. Some might be included in cable, some are stand alone and some just house purchased Blu_ray. I would see a show I would like, I would subscribe, binge, then forget to unsubscribe or be lured by the promise of a show. I think many people are just looking at their overall spend, and cutting based on how much they watch. The explosion of streaming services had to have victims, and Netflix is just paying for being one of the pack, not something unique. They are; HBOMax, Discovery+, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Peacock, Vudu, Apple TV, Netflix, Disney+, Espn+
listless 5y ago
My wife keeps throwing out “wokeness” as the reason and I don’t buy it. Yes, that shit is obnoxious, but I don’t care. If your content is good, be as “woke” as you like. I just want good shows. Bottom line is Netflix has too much competition from cheaper platforms with better content.
- tyingq 5y ago
  Some of it would be what it does to "suspension of disbelief". It's hard to get immersed in a show if it doesn't seem real enough.
  - syspec 5y ago
    Can you elaborate?
    - tyingq 5y ago
      I don't know that I can come up with the best example, but let's say a 1800's period piece that tries to weave in some LGBT themes, racial equity, etc. There's ways to do that well, but it's easy to push it hard enough that it's going to make it hard to believe. Hard to believe some of the depicted events would have happened in that timeframe, in that manner, etc. Badly researched, written or performed, it would be hard to stay immersed in a story that's highly improbable.
      - jeromegv 5y ago
        I think you misunderstand what was the point of Bridgerton. It wasn’t meant to be a new period drama like Downton Abbey. It’s a whole new world in itself, it’s not meant to be a realistic representation of what the 1800s would have been. I find the alternative universe quite interesting in itself.
        tyingq 5y ago
        I did not watch Bridgerton. It was truly a contrived example.
sieabahlpark 5y ago
I think complaining about wokeness with "Cuties" is completely reasonable reason to cancel. A few people I know cancelled. I also know once they start cracking down on password sharing they will also cancel. Don't sugar coat a poorly run company with equally opinionated reasoning.
diogenescynic 5y ago
It's both.
sgarman 5y ago
> Many are probably consuming shorter form content (like TikTok), or enjoying more time in public. So Quibi was right! ;)

by danans 5y ago

dv_dt 5y ago

Especially if the streaming service tells you it's going to raise prices and crack down on password sharing. It's bringing the customer's attention to the subscription service at exactly the wrong time. Edit: missed a "the"

hackernewds 5y ago
Best thing a subscription service can do is not remind me that I'm subscribed. The constant price increases were poorly planned, against the lack of good content - since Stranger Things and House of Cards can't recall much attaining that level of vitality (besides maybe Squid Games)

jeffbee 5y ago

Especially since there is not even enough good content on Netflix to fill 1-2 hours per week. The article nails the central issue: the shows on Netflix are not good.

phillipcarter 5y ago
Yes, that's largely it. Many of the shows, especially newer ones, are actually just kinda trash. Why pay for trash? Not to mention the raised prices and cracking down on password sharing.

andrew_ 5y ago

I had been a Netflix for customer for 10 years. For me personally, it's a combination of several of the reasons you cast doubt on. While I may not be in the majority, I am real and those reasons (which I shall not list, to avoid HN wrath) were attributed to my cancellation.

hackernewds 5y ago
Same
danans 5y ago
Your reasons are totally real and you are entitled to them, but in the context of subscriber loss in the 100s of thousands probably marginal.
- soperj 5y ago
  They actually gained subscribers in the western world still, but lost in total because of all Russian accounts were terminated.
  - MrMan 5y ago
    yes lets talk about the actual reason for god sake. it was hugely due to Russia
    - malfist 5y ago
      The issue isn't necessarily that they lost users this time, even though that's what all the headlines are about. They projected continued losses of subscribers, even after the one time event with russia is through.
    - brimble 5y ago
      Russia's why it was a net loss, but not why they missed their projection so badly.
    - bombcar 5y ago

noncoml 5y ago

(inappropriate)

danans 5y ago
Pure software engineer, actually.
- noncoml 5y ago
  Sorry. It was tongue in cheek and not appropriate. Deleted.

lock-the-spock 5y ago

Constant price increases with stronger competition (Disney+) - my downgraded subscription is more expensive than what I paid two years ago...

serial_dev 5y ago

I didn't cancel Netflix yet (have been thinking about it as I find that sometimes I just watch it for hours, and it's kind of a waste of life). I can say for sure, if they introduce ads, I'm leaving, I won't pay for watching ads, sorry.

conception 5y ago
They've said they are introducing a reduced subscription fee with ads, not adding ads.
- grogenaut 5y ago
  Given their price increases they'll be at $15/month on the ad supported tier soon
  - thewebcount 5y ago
    I generally avoid any service that even has an ad-supported tier because in my experience it starts out as "ads are to subsidize the cost for people who can't afford or don't want to pay for the premium service." Then it becomes, "We're contractually obligated to have ads in certain shows regardless of which tier the viewer is, but they won't show up in others, and they'll be short and unobtrusive." Then it's "We're keeping rates low by having ads in all show, but they're ads that are relevant and very short, and only at the beginning and/or end of the show." Then it becomes "We're removing the premium tier because not enough people signed up for it. Also the ads are going to be longer and more intrusive now." Forget it. I can just skip the whole thing and lose nothing. If you even have an ad-supported tier, I'm out.
    - bombcar 5y ago
      Advertisers also don't want to advertise to those "too cheap to pay to avoid ads". They want to everyone, or the premier tiers. It's a conflict that can never be resolved.
      - 5y ago

strangattractor 5y ago

I would tend to agree. Another factor is that people have choices now. There are other public streaming companies which gives investors something to compare to. When you are out there on your own the sky is the limit for stock price. Now it's why should more for a premium for X when Y is growing faster etc.

ghaff 5y ago

A lot of the "pandemic stocks" have taken a real pounding. For me, Netflix content is "OK" overall. But so is content on most of the other streaming services. And I don't really watch a huge amount of video so it makes sense for me to pick a few services and maybe dip in and out. Netflix is probably the one delivering the least bang for the buck to me right now so I'll probably watch a few things and drop it at some point.

sschueller 5y ago

Instead of increasing every one's pricing they should have added a FOMO tier giving people early access to new content before anyone else. Additionally to get people to think twice before unsubscribing increase the price for new subscribers but keep existing subs at the lower rate. You cancel you can't get that rate back.

bombcar 5y ago
FOMO vs resolution would have been brilliant, and grandfathering in is a great way to keep people around (even if you do something like bump them up in cost later, but still cheaper than everyone new).

ozzythecat 5y ago

I cancelled because it’s not worth the time investment. Good shows are not only difficult to find, but Netflix will release a season or two and unreasonably no longer continue on, without closing out the story. They try to cater to a mass audience and use a large net, but then due to capital costs or whatever reasons, they force their customer to feel stupid for getting invested into a show in the first place. I miss the days where I could binge watch a series on release date. Now all the streaming services also seem to rate limit each episode to once a week. All the qualities that drew me into streaming have slowly faded away.

_jal 5y ago
This. I cancelled it when they raised their prices, it made me think about how much I watch things on there. Which was rarely - my guess was around 1 show/month on average. > Now all the streaming services also seem to rate limit each episode to once a week. Yeah, screw that noise. Torrents are still their primary competitor, and the operative issue is not cost, it is convenience.
giords 5y ago
I totally agree. Overall the quality just dropped dramatically and what made Netflix great is disappearing.
jaywalk 5y ago
Entire seasons being released at once was such a massive positive for streaming. The fact that they're moving away from that just to boost numbers is very disappointing.
- zanellato19 5y ago
  I disagree. The wait and the suspense it builds and the talking between friends is amazing. People surging ahead leads to a difficulty in conversation that week-to-week episodes do not.
  - azinman2 5y ago

sjtindell 5y ago

Even introducing the the pandemic and inflation into it at all seems off base to me. There simply isn't an infinite number of people in the world who have the time, money, and broadband access to watch Netflix. They're nearing or have reached the peak of people who can use their product. That makes sense to me.

NearAP 5y ago

I agree. - I recently realized I had only turned on my TV just about 4 - 5 times in about 6 months and yet I was paying close to $140 per month, so I downgraded my cable subscription to the minimal (combined cable & internet is cheaper than only internet). - Also realized I rarely watched Netflix (hadn't watched in months) cos I no longer found shows that I liked and I was paying $15.49 per month. And then I saw HBO Max was $9.99 a month. So I canceled Netflix and signed on to HBO Max. There's also the psychological part that HBO Max allows me to pay for the whole year upfront (Netflix doesn't) so I can close my eyes and just pay them $100 and be done with it. - I also realized I rarely have time to watch long form content except for weekends. This is one advantage that Amazon Prime has - apart from it being 'free' to me since I already paid for prime, I can rent movies for $2.99 for those few times that I need to be 'entertained'. Maybe I spend $6 in one month and $0 in others. It's still better than $15.49 (or $140) without watching at all. - It's possible that lots of people have a variation of these reasons. I understand that Netflix had to raise their prices given how much they were spending on content. It looks to me like they 'overspent' on content without taking into consideration that they would have to recoup the cost from increased subscription fees and this might not be palatable to their members given that there are now multiple alternatives

ghaff 5y ago
I think a lot of people have become conditioned to monthly subscriptions that they don't need to think about. But, especially if you're more into films than TV shows, there's something to be said for cutting back on subscriptions and buying/renting a la carte. Netflix still even has their DVD by mail option although the back catalog isn't nearly as good as it used to be.
- capitainenemo 5y ago
  Yep. It even has an android app. And I agree, the catalog has more holes than it used to. Still more content than the streaming service though.
greggman3 5y ago
> There's also the psychological part that HBO Max allows me to pay for the whole year upfront (Netflix doesn't) so I can close my eyes and just pay them $100 and be done with it. Interesting. My behavior has been that when someone recommends a show on Netflix and I decide I want to watch it it subscribe and cancel which means I pay for 1 month. I watch the show. I've tried browsing for others but hate browsing on Netflix. I'm happy that "I'm done with it" immediately and that I'm not billed anymore. Netflix makes it super easy to start again, and to cancel and also like that having it cancelled provides a tiny hurdle against binging random stuff.

martibravo 5y ago

I have been a Netflix customer for 5+ years, and I've switched services to Disney+ for two reasons: - Netflix with 4K and 4 streaming devices costs 17.99€ here ($19.50), while Disney+ only costs €8.99 with the same features. - Netflix made and continues to make good content, but since major producers have been removing their content from Netflix and into their own services, Netflix here almost survives on old local shows and new in-house content. Feels like there's almost nothing new to watch. I have rewatched Gilmore Girls 4 times. Disney+ gets you Marvel, Disney, Pixar, FOX, NatGeo, StarWars, Star (lots of ABC content) -Netflix decided to crackdown on password-sharing: my brother moved away some months ago and has been using our Netflix account, and we don't want him to pay Netflix for himself. -There have been some rumors of ads on the platform to boost revenue. Hell to the no.

bumby 5y ago
>There have been some rumors of ads on the platform to boost revenue. It's been stated elsewhere here but worth reiterating: the current description of this idea is to give customers the option to have ads in exchange for a lower overall subscription cost and not just shoehorn them into the existing plans. At least that's the stated intent. I can definitely see where it can lead to a slippery slope where it's easier to just give ads to everyone when they need another revenue bump.
- htrp 5y ago
  That's how it starts..... it ends with you paying for ad free hulu and wondering how you're still watching unskippable ads.
- snickerbockers 5y ago
  theres also a high probability of misinformed (or well-informed but adversarial) twitter users getting #CancelNetflix to trend because people will only read the headlines and not understand that they wont be seeing ads unless they want to save money.
  - ghaff 5y ago

bcassedy 5y ago

I haven't canceled yet but am considering it. They have a few problems for me - They don't make it easy to discover content. They still have quite a lot of good original content that isn't promoted and a slew of third party things that aren't promoted or discoverable at all unless they happen to make the trending list The majority of their original, promoted content is watered down crap designed for mass appeal. For TV shows, when they do produce something of quality they often dump it if it doesn't find an audience immediately or it doesn't drive "new subscribers". Leaving a bunch of stories half told doesn't give me the confidence that it's worth the investment to start on their new content. This is especially problematic because it is a vicious cycle where since they aggressively cancel stuff that isn't performing, people don't invest their time in new stuff because of the expectation it gets canceled, means more new stuff underperforms, leading to more cancelations, and further eroding the trust of viewers. It's also negatively impacted by poor discoverability. Their UI is seemingly optimized to shove their latest broad appeal stuff in my face and seems to deliberately make it hard to find anything else.

supertofu 5y ago
The Netflix UI is so unfortunate. I KNOW they have the ability to recommend me interesting content, but instead they just peddle whatever their latest original content. Also the browsing experience is hellish. It's barely possible to even search by genre.
- tricky777 5y ago
  the worst crime, is suggesting series which I just finished watching. wtf. I know that its technically good for their bottom line if I watch same thing twice (twice the revenue for the same cost), but that ia so frustrating, when trying to find something to watch.
carbine 5y ago
> The majority of their original, promoted content is watered down crap designed for mass appeal. this has 100% been the reason my time spent on Netflix has gone down. seems like everything they make is algo-optimizing shlock designed to appeal to the average consumer.

wrycoder 5y ago

Yeah, I need to make room for all my new Substack subscriptions, and there’s nothing on Netflix Streaming that I want to watch, anyway. I do like their DVD service, though.

dawnbreez 5y ago

Netflix says it lost 200k subscribers--but I have to wonder, is that 200k people who were paying for a subscription, or is some percentage of that number actually people who were sharing an account, stopped watching when Netflix started threatening people who share accounts, and are now being counted as "lost subscribers" (because Netflix expected them to start a new account)?

bombcar 5y ago
It's fewer total subscribers. The real number is the entirety of the miss (predicted 2.5m higher subscriber numbers - 700k loss to Russia + 200k actual drop = 2m less than expected). It means new subscribers are now outnumbered by cancelling subscribers for the first time.

Tiktaalik 5y ago

I agree with this and it's likely we're going to see the same subscription dips hit other services, such as Disney+, Prime, Patreon, and more. Money is tight. People are closing their wallets. Frivolous luxury expenses are the ones that will be cut the first.

api 5y ago

I think pandemic rebound is probably part of it, but honestly I just think Netflix has gotten cheap. Whether it's in-house or licensed, "woke" or not, whatever, the quality of in-house content and the availability of outside content has really gone downhill.

johnnyanmac 5y ago

I do think that fierce competition from competing services with way more IP's to leverage is a big factor. But yes, I think in some extent the world is simply starting to open back up slowly, and this will naturally affect any industry which surged due to the pandemic. Whatever restaurants remaining will surge, indoor entertainment will deflate down a bit. And I also agree that the internet sentiment of "omg too many services, I'm just gonna pirate" is such a minor part of the equation. Social media loves overrepresenting its just world fallacy and thinking that everyone is as invested to screw over companies as they are on twitter or whatnot.

every 5y ago

We are in the process of doing something similar. My wife watches a lot of Netflix so we will be keeping that (for now). But between us there is only a single product on Google TV we watch regularly and it is going from 5 days a week to 1. And it even has a free "highlights" post on Youtube a day after broadcast. We will be cancelling next month...

the_mitsuhiko 5y ago

It's a minor thing but Netflix is also most annoying to use from many services now because they are strict on device approval. For instance most home projectors do not support Netflix. I was close to cancelling Netflix because it just does not want to work on my projector and it really is bloody annoying to use the workarounds.

Rebelgecko 5y ago

I think the demise of Netflix has been greatly overstated (although growth is slowing down) The biggest change last quarter is that Netflix went from having 700,000 customers in Russia down to 0. In other words, they actually had a net gain of 500,000 subscribers in the parts of the world where they still operate.

graaben 5y ago
I believe they are forecasting a loss of another 2mm subscribers in Q2.
colinmhayes 5y ago
A net gain of 500,000 against an expected gain of 2.5M is horrible. Don't think analysts are ignoring the Russia situation, they just realize that Netflix has much bigger problems.

lkxijlewlf 5y ago

My SO and I as well as some friends of ours (we were talking to them about it) are just subscriptioned out. We can afford it, it's not the money (though we do hate to waste money, we're not foolish). But we keep track and it's just, why do we have so many, so we decided to pare down and see what we miss and see what sticks.

vishnugupta 5y ago

Since Netflix launched in India couple of years ago I've been a subscriber. The content is strictly average. Amazon Prime and Disney + Hotstar have significantly larger, relevant, and better content. Amazon Prime gets you free shipping as well so that's there. However, I don't know to what extent Netflix are relying on India for growth. At INR 650/month it's definitely not cheap. Disney + Hotstar, at INR 1499/year is, five times less expensive.

Johnny555 5y ago

I canceled because they were raising my subscription to $19.99 (I had the UHD subscription), and I really don't watch it enough to make it worth $20/month to me. I still have Hulu, HBOMax and Disney, so in 6 months or so I'll probably drop one of those and return to Netflix to look for new content before they delete my viewing history. I've been with Netflix since when they were DVD-only, so they have a lot of history on me. I imagine that before long, the streaming providers will get tired of people rotating through and will require 1 year contracts.

tonguez 5y ago

arbitrary_name 5y ago
You really needed to get that off your chest huh? Go pay for a therapist, and save us your weird malformed ideology and frustrations.
- provedhispt 5y ago
  I think you proved his point. As a non-white person, I get tired of hearing people blame white people for every other ill. Or if it’s not blame, it’s an attempt to shoehorn white supremacy as some prevailing ideology into every discussion. Netflix does this constantly in their originals. They just can’t help themselves. And the usual suspects play coy about it when anyone complains. Go see a therapist, etc. for daring to notice the constant browbeating in Netflix programming and saying anything about it. If I watch tv, it’s to escape reality, including to not get proselytized to for thirty minutes of my life.

wiremine 5y ago

Agreed. Changes in post-pandemic behavior, prices increases, more competition, arguably decrease in quality, and no long-term contracts. Doesn't seem like rocket science why they're loosing customers.

whymauri 5y ago

A key point here is TikTok and the attention economy. At a high level, the entertainment/social media industries are based on a finite resource: attention. Netflix is losing the attention of users, especially younger users, to other platforms. Then there is attention loss due to other rising streaming services. But yeah, the rate hikes are also hitting hard. Targeting account sharing more aggressively than they already do will lead to more cancellations. And the day Netflix shows me an ad, I will never use it again.

jboy55 5y ago

I've realized I have a problem, and the solution might be me cutting off Netflix? The problem? I've slowly accumulated ten streaming subscriptions. Some might be included in cable, some are stand alone and some just house purchased Blu_ray. I would see a show I would like, I would subscribe, binge, then forget to unsubscribe or be lured by the promise of a show. I think many people are just looking at their overall spend, and cutting based on how much they watch. The explosion of streaming services had to have victims, and Netflix is just paying for being one of the pack, not something unique. They are; HBOMax, Discovery+, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Peacock, Vudu, Apple TV, Netflix, Disney+, Espn+

listless 5y ago

My wife keeps throwing out “wokeness” as the reason and I don’t buy it. Yes, that shit is obnoxious, but I don’t care. If your content is good, be as “woke” as you like. I just want good shows. Bottom line is Netflix has too much competition from cheaper platforms with better content.

tyingq 5y ago
Some of it would be what it does to "suspension of disbelief". It's hard to get immersed in a show if it doesn't seem real enough.
- syspec 5y ago
  Can you elaborate?
  - tyingq 5y ago
    I don't know that I can come up with the best example, but let's say a 1800's period piece that tries to weave in some LGBT themes, racial equity, etc. There's ways to do that well, but it's easy to push it hard enough that it's going to make it hard to believe. Hard to believe some of the depicted events would have happened in that timeframe, in that manner, etc. Badly researched, written or performed, it would be hard to stay immersed in a story that's highly improbable.
    - jeromegv 5y ago
      I think you misunderstand what was the point of Bridgerton. It wasn’t meant to be a new period drama like Downton Abbey. It’s a whole new world in itself, it’s not meant to be a realistic representation of what the 1800s would have been. I find the alternative universe quite interesting in itself.
      - tyingq 5y ago
        I did not watch Bridgerton. It was truly a contrived example.

sieabahlpark 5y ago

I think complaining about wokeness with "Cuties" is completely reasonable reason to cancel. A few people I know cancelled. I also know once they start cracking down on password sharing they will also cancel. Don't sugar coat a poorly run company with equally opinionated reasoning.

diogenescynic 5y ago

It's both.

sgarman 5y ago

> Many are probably consuming shorter form content (like TikTok), or enjoying more time in public. So Quibi was right! ;)