Netflix is losing in streaming wars – Here’s why

Netflix is regarded as one of the OGs of streaming. It was one of the earliest adapters in streaming movies and TV shows. But recently, Netflix has been losing subscribers and their stock plunged 35.1%, a day after their 2022 quarterly reports. They lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of last year; the first net loss in over a decade.

Things are obviously not looking good for Netflix. But what can they do to salvage themselves? In this article we will discuss how this problem started and of course some few strategies Netflix should consider moving forward in order to get back on their feet.

The Content problem.

As with any streaming service, quality content is a key in keeping viewers engaged. There have been some complains Netflix shows are not engaging enough for some viewers. On the other hand, some people claim that even the good shows that they produce, take a long time before being refreshed. Other people complain that some licensed shows (meaning they are not Netflix originals) are not regularly updated.

A perfect example of this is The Blacklist. This show has proven to be a classic over time. Despite being a fan favorite, this show lags behind in episodes. At the time of writing this article, The Blacklist is currently in its ninth and final season while Netflix’s latest season of this show is season 7 which may prove to be a deal breaker to many fans.

But in Netflix’s defense, they produced over 500 new shows in 2021 alone. In addition to this, shows like Bridgerton, don’t look up and Lupin have had fans hooked up to their screens. All they have to do now is update them regularly to avoid losing customers.

The other issue with content, is licensing. This simply means leasing shows which are not original for a given period of time. Big production studios such as Paramount have figured out a way to make a profit off their own content. This is by cutting the middleman (Netflix) and opening up their own streaming platform; in this case Paramount +.

This is huge issue for Netflix and the more quality original content they keep producing, the more they will be winning this battle. Take for instance a hit show like, How I met your mother. This show had one of the highest rated season finale watch view in television history at 12.9 million views. Despite this, it was discontinued late last year which was a bummer for some constant viewers of the show.

Competition is getting stiffer.

There is no doubt that streaming services have increased in the recent past. Not only have they increased, but each of them is offering some very exciting exclusive shows. Take for instance Wonder Woman 1984(2020) and Hamilton (2020). Both of these shows which are Disney Originals, made a spike in subscription increase for Disney plus when they first came out.

But according to data from Antenna, there was a decrease in subscriptions 6 months later from the latter group. This continues to show how much exclusive shows account for a surge in subscriptions but if there is no other engaging content, the consumer is forced to leave.

Furthermore, there is stiff competition in prices. Although Netflix is relatively cheaper while offering an ad-free service this might just be hurting their business. According to data from Antenna, Hulu’s ad-supported plan accounts for 59% of all subscriptions on the platform with the 41% paying for the ad free plan. It seems that customers would rather pay for a cheaper plan and get ads rather than pay for the full expensive package.

To elaborate more on this point, HBO Max introduced an Ad option in June of 2021 and by the end of the year, 8% of all subscriptions paid for the Ad supported plan and the number is expected to continue growing. Disney Plus is also expected to introduce an Ad supported plan by the end of the year leaving Netflix in a dilemma.

Worldwide availability.

This is one of the areas that Netflix is winning big. Out of all the 222 million Netflix subscribers, only 74.98million are based in North America, meaning a vast majority of Netflix’s viewers are based outside the US and Canada. The reason why this is stronghold for Netflix is that a majority of their competition only offer their services in the United States.

Netflix should leverage this power by keeping their viewers engaged before the rest of the competition like Hulu and HBO Max catch up.

Password sharing.

Password sharing has been a long-time advantage to the user while in turn bringing a loss to Netflix. Netflix has tried several measures in the past such as limiting the amount devices that can stream at once per account and limiting the number of profiles that can be created under one account.

Despite these measures, users have found sneaky work arounds such as downloading shows and streaming them offline to avoid the limited streaming per device. According to some recent data, of the 222million subscribers, 100million of them access Netflix through password sharing.

Netflix is now tired of the games and is now ready to crack the whips. With their new policy, they are going to limit password sharing per household and could even attract additional charges should the account not adhere to this rule. They are already running experiment in areas such as Chile and Costa Rica.

Strategies that Netflix could probably use to get back on their feet.

A cheaper Ad supported plan.

This has been the elephant in the room for quite some time but we can no longer pretend like its no option. Majority of the competition are offering this option and Netflix could do so soon. An Ad lowers the cost on the consumer’s end while increasing more subscribers which is a gain on Netflix’s side. As mentioned above, Hulu’s cheapest and Ad supported plan accounts for 59% of all the subscriptions on the platform. Its time for Netflix to take this step to stay on par with the competition.

Regularly updating content.

It is no shock that some users cancel their subscriptions due to delayed updates of their favorite shows. Furthermore, Netflix should also consider updating licensed shows. These include shows like The Blacklist and more.

According to recent research done, viewers are more likely to cancel their subscriptions if new episodes of their favorite shows are delayed. Take for instance a show like Dynasty. Its third season premiered in late 2019 then there was a two-year delay before the fourth season was released in the fourth quarter of 2021. Although the pandemic may have played a role in this, the wait was too long.

Final thoughts.

Netflix is obviously the largest streaming service worldwide and this is just but a minor setback. If they focus on their strong areas such as worldwide availability and use it as leverage to lure more people into their platform, they can continue seeing an increase in their userbase. Comment below your thoughts on this ‘Netflix’ situation.