Maria Tsevdos '26
When Netflix first became a streaming service in 2007, it quickly became a household name and retained its popularity for over ten years. In recent years, however, other streaming services are taking some of that popularity.
In 2022, Netflix reported a drop in subscriber growth, and its share price declined by 67%. In Netflix’s most recent quarterly letter to its shareholders, it reported a loss of 970,000 subscribers over a span of three months.
In April, Netflix lost 200,000 subscribers, its first sign of decrease since 2011. When Netflix announced this year an expected loss of 2 million subscribers, panic spread, and in Hollywood Netflix’s reputation took a blow.
Over the years, so many new streaming services have gained popularity, such as Hulu, Disney+, HBO, and Amazon Prime Video.
In February 2022, Disney+ gained 11.7 million subscribers, outranking Netflix, whose growth began slowing down. Netflix itself even stated that competition is intense, and they’ve considered a plan that may result in the company's end.
Many streaming services decided that to make more money, they’d charge for more different subscriptions. Disney+ announced that users would have to pay $10.99 for an ad-free plan, while paying the usual subscription fee would have advertisements interlaced within. Subscribers were agitated over this announcement, but will probably either pay the usual price or endure a raise.
This year, Netflix announced something similar: a lower-priced plan that includes advertisements for $6.99 a month. This will be activated in 12 countries on November 1, and November 3 for the United States.
The quality of Netflix originals have rapidly declined, as well. While Netflix is the creator of popular shows like “Stranger Things”, “Cobra Kai”, and “Bridgerton”, all these shows were created a few years ago when Netflix originals were better quality.
Its movies from 2021 and beyond haven’t fared well. When “He’s All That” was released in 2021, its reviews were mostly negative, scoring a 30% from Rotten Tomatoes.
“Riverdale” only had a two-star rating and only 250,000 viewers after its sixth season was released.
“Stranger Things” had the lowest Rotten Tomatoes percentage since its release; season one had a 97%, while season 4 had an 88%.
“Bridgerton” received a Rotten Tomatoes score of 87% for its first season, while season two’s rating dropped 9% to a 78%.
Only time and Netflix’s choices will determine either the rise or fall of the world’s biggest streaming service.
Kommentarer