In April, Netflix reported that it had lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022. It had been a decade since Netflix last recorded a quarterly loss, and the service is already projecting that it will lose another 2 million subscribers by the end of Q2. So should all streaming services be worried about massive subscriber losses as the world adjusts to the new streaming normal? Not necessarily.
According to analysis from research firm Antenna, every major premium subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service saw an increase in customers last quarter other than Netflix. When Antenna checked the thirty-day churn between Netflix cancellations and premium streaming service sign-ups, they discovered that premium SVOD services as a whole saw an increase of over 35%. Peacock, HBO Max, and Paramount+ saw the highest increase in customers as each service gained over 70% more customers than they did in Q4 2021.
And it seems as though the switch from Netflix to other SVOD services is leveling out. When Disney+ launched in November 2019, nearly half of every subscriber Netflix lost to other streaming services came at the hands of Disney+. But according to Antenna’s latest data from the first quarter of this year, cord-cutters switched almost equally to Disney+ as they did Peacock, Hulu, Paramount+ and HBO Max. SHOWTIME, Starz, Apple TV+ and discovery+ also all saw single-digit percentage gains in subscribers.
So then why is Netflix losing subscribers while so many other SVODs are gaining users? The answer may be in the price. In January, Netflix raised the rates of all three of its tiers by $1 to $2 making the Premium 4K package $20 per month, the most expensive tier in the SVOD market.
In response, Netflix is currently working out a strategy to offer a lower-priced option. The streaming service is planning to bump up its timeline for an ad-supported tier that would give cost-conscious consumers a more budget-friendly subscription option. The lower price is expected to come by the end of the year and the company hopes that it will not only subscriber numbers but its stock price as well.
Netflix
Netflix is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 3,000+ movies, 2,000+ TV Shows, and Netflix Originals like Stranger Things, Squid Game, The Crown, Tiger King, and Bridgerton. They are constantly adding new shows and movies. Some of their Academy Award-winning exclusives include Roma, Marriage Story, Mank, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.