New Delhi: Netflix is losing out on its viewers. A Bloomberg report has noted that the once loyal army of Netflix users are not watching the streaming service as much as they did earlier.
“Customers aren’t opening the app on as many days a month as they did a couple of years ago, said the people who asked not to be identified because the data is confidential,” the Bloomberg report read.
The report added that the customers are also spending less time watching Netflix. While the total time on the app has increased, sources told Bloomberg that it’s because more customers were added. But individually, the users are watching less.
“Netflix has increased its programming budget and is expanding into new categories, such as podcasts and live sports, to attract new customers and retain old ones,” said the report.
As per a firm named Apptopia, a firm that tracks mobile app use , the share of US subscribers who didn’t open the app rose by 16.6 per cent in the third quarter, compared to last year.
Netflix has not produced many hit TV shows and films this year. But its executives have identified several reasons behind this decline: new user interface to greater competition, worse programming to dearth of marketing outside the service.
And now, Netflix is worried. In 2022, the company started cracking down on password sharing. But the reason is not password sharing but users finding less value in the content on the platform.
“At first, executives assumed it would be short-term, because fewer people were using each account. But the trend has continued, raising the risk that people are using each account. But the trend has continued, raising the risk that people are finding less value in the service or spending more time with rivals,” the report said.
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Not growing as fast as expected
The decline in usage has been modest at 2 per cent. The shares have slipped by about 29 per cent, affecting the company’s overall growth. Netflix said its advertising will also face a slump of about $300 million dollars compared to its earlier projections.
Co-Chief Executive Officer Ted Sarandos said that viewership in the US is not particularly “growing as fast as it could or as fast as we’d like.” But he added that the company is doing well outside the US.
Netflix was founded in August 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph to make movie rentals more accessible. Back then, it brought a major shift in the movie rental industry as people didn’t have to visit physical stores but could order DVDs online and get them delivered to their homes.
It was in 2007 when Netflix launched its streaming service “Watch Now.” It had a library of around a thousand movies and TV shows that users could watch online instantly.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)