Netflix Stumbles

Netflix, once the king of the streaming world, stumbled badly in the first quarter of 2022, losing over 200,000 subscribers. This was followed by a 35% drop in their stock price. And they expect to lose 2 million more in the second quarter of the year. 

The reasons offered by Netflix are somewhat bizarre and fail to grasp the reality of things. They blame it on the increasing competition and users sharing passwords. 

The increase in competition is easy to believe. Disney, HBO, HULU and others are slowly encroaching on territory that used to belong solely to Netflix. But, the sharing passwords excuse sounds a bit like sour grapes, as the service is being used in a way that Netflix didn’t intend. 

Netflix can limit the number of channels using one account. But if an account is within its limit, the streamer really has little reason to complain. Netflix made the rules. If viewers have found a loophole, they’re free to exploit it until Netflix finds a way to fix it. 

But all the talk about password sharing diverts attention from the true reasons behind Netflix’s massive failure. The truth is Netflix had a captive audience during the worldwide lockdowns of Covid. Now that Covid is diminishing in most countries around the world, the services of Netflix are losing their luster.

In Thailand, we’ve noticed that Netflix keeps recycling the same tired films and series that they’ve been featuring for two years. Newer streaming services like Disney and HBO can air their entertainment, but because it hasn’t been seen before, they seem like new shows and get a lot more attention.

It will be interesting to see what will happen when audiences get as tired of the new streamers as they have become of Netflix. Hopefully, we’ll be treated to a war of quality content by the streamers. That will be a win-win for the viewers.