Netflix saw slow subscriber growth, believes they have a turnaround plan - The UpStream

Netflix saw slow subscriber growth, believes they have a turnaround plan

posted Saturday Jul 20, 2019 by Scott Ertz

Netflix saw slow subscriber growth, believes they have a turnaround plan

Over the past year or so, the number of streaming video services has expanded dramatically. Not long ago, we had Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video. Today we've got new services like CBS All Access, DC Universe, and more. In the near future, we'll see the addition of Disney+, NBC's new service, AT&T's new service, and more.

More choice means more decisions to be made, and customers are making those decisions to the detriment of Netflix's subscriber growth. The company added 2.7 million paid subscribers, which is a far cry from their expected 5 million growth for the quarter. The company attributes some of this to their recent price increase but also sees a way forward.

Addressing two issues at once, Netflix pointed to the recent announcement that NBC would be reclaiming the rights to The Office and Friends as a good thing. According to their research, when Netflix loses licensed content, subscribers tend to simply gravitate to other available programming, often focusing on original programming. With that, it tracks that the loss of The Office will encourage subscribers to check out original programming from the company. In addition, it will free up a ton of financial resources to allow for new Netflix Originals.

The company has also committed to subscribers and investors to make better decisions about their Originals. Netflix has had a very open policy with its green light, approving some real bombs. For every Stranger Things there's at least one Girlboss. For every Bird Box there's a Gypsy. Going forward, they plan to be more careful with the money they spend on Originals. That move will be good for everyone, because it means that sifting through the Originals category should return far fewer disasters like Chealsea and more hits like Big Mouth, plus they won't be wasting money. A win-win situation.

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