“The reality is with so much alternative content out there, where is the new stuff that is just crushing it? Where are the new franchises?” asked Mr. Greenfield, the analyst. He noted that popular shows like “Ozark,” “Stranger Things” and “The Crown” would soon be ending their runs.
Indeed, interest in Netflix’s vast library has been showing signs of plateauing.
“For every single title on the Netflix catalog, the demand is pretty much flat,” said Alejandro Rojas, the vice president of applied analytics at Parrot Analytics, a research firm. “The catalog for HBO Max and Disney+ is growing double digits. That’s a big difference.”
Netflix’s performance could also cause rivals to reconsider their own international expansion plans, potentially making more targeted efforts overseas. Netflix’s subscriptions declined not just in the United States and Canada but also in Europe and Latin America.
“Netflix has thrown the kitchen sink at this,” the industry analyst Michael Nathanson said. “They were a first mover, they spent a ton on content, and they are making more localized content. They’ve done the right things, and yet they’ve hit a wall.”
Netflix executives, normally self-assured, seemed notably unsteady on Tuesday, when the first-quarter results were released. The co-chief executive Reed Hastings, who once swore there would never be ads on Netflix, said the company would consider introducing a lower-priced, advertising-supported tier in the next year or two. Netflix also said it would crack down on password sharing, a practice that in the past it said it had no problem with.
“We’ve been thinking about that for a couple of years, but when we were growing fast it wasn’t a high priority to work on,” Mr. Hastings said. “And now, we’re working superhard on it.”
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/20/business/media/netflix-streaming-subscription-model.html
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