It’s hard to believe, but Netflix launched near the end of 1997 and was best known for being a mail-based rental service. Users would rent DVDs that Netflix would mail to them to use for a short period. Users would then send the DVD back or face additional fees, and the process would continue with other users.
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Many have credited services such as Netflix and Redbox for putting video stores such as Blockbuster and Hollywood Video out of business. It wasn’t long after that the company started its streaming service and then slowly phased out the DVD mail service.
It is now 2022, and streaming services have popped up everywhere. Disney+, Paramount+, PeacockTV, HBO Max, Plex, Crackle, Tubi, and more are carving out a piece of the streaming pie. So it’s not surprising to find that Netflix has been losing subscribers.
The company’s stock took a hit recently and has reported its first subscriber loss in more than a decade. Services like Disney+, HBO Max, Paramount+, and Hulu are now starting to keep their original programming and not offering it to other services. That has left Netflix’s inventory somewhat lacking unless you enjoy the company’s “original” efforts.
The loss of 200,000 subscribers can be attributed to several variables, including inflation, the competitive market of streaming services, and a slow decline in COVID-19 restrictions, according to executives. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings told investors that the pandemic “created a lot of noise,” making it difficult to determine whether the changes in subscription numbers reflect national trends.
Netflix’s loss in subscribers could also be attributed to the company’s decision to withdraw its service from Russia to protest the country’s invasion of Ukraine or to the increase in unauthorized password-sharing, a practice Netflix hopes to stop by implementing a new feature to confirm users live in the same household.
Others had different theories for the decrease, with Tesla CEO Elon Musk suggesting the decline in subscribers is due to the “woke mind virus” making the streaming service “unwatchable.”
The subscriber decline is the first reported dip by the streaming company since October 2011. Netflix forecasted that the decline would continue and expects to lose 2 million subscribers in the current quarter.
Washington Examiner
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