Netflix misses the mark as slow subscriber growth sends shares south

[Shawn Knight]

Netflix fell well short of its projected 2.5 million new subscribers for the second quarter, instead attracting just 1.68 million newcomers which brings its total number of subscribers to 83.18 million globally. In the US, Netflix added just 160,000 subscribers.

Last quarter, Netflix welcomed a record 6.74 million subscribers thanks to its expansion into 130 additional countries.

In a letter to shareholders, Netflix said its churn ticked up slightly and unexpectedly (and remained that way through the quarter) which happened to coincide with press coverage in early April regarding plans to “un-grandfather” longer tenured members.

The “un-grandfathering” Netflix is referring to is a price hike it is implementing this year.

Unsurprisingly, share value is tanking in after-hours trading and is currently down 13.27 percent as of writing.

In October of last year, Netflix raised the price of its HD plan by a buck, from $8.99 to $9.99. The increase was effective immediately but only for new members. Existing members locked in their cheaper rate.

Netflix said today that un-grandfathering and associated media coverage may moderate near-term membership growth but over time, it’ll help drive long-term growth by allowing them to deliver more content to their subscribers.

Netflix reported revenues of $2.11 billion on the quarter with a profit of $40.8 million, or $0.09 per share.

Netflix is projecting to add 2.3 million subscribers this quarter.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/65625-netflix-misses-mark-slow-subscriber-growth-sends-shares.html

 

[Reehahs]

I am glad Netflix is coming out with its own content; nothing urks me more than stupid country by country licenses.

 

[Hexic]

"Netflix said today that un-grandfathering and associated media coverage may moderate near-term membership growth but over time, it’ll help drive long-term growth by allowing them to deliver more content to their subscribers."

Uh huh. Translated: "We're taking away the grandfathered loyalty plans for sticking with us for so long so that you will give us more money, thus 'enabling' us to show you more stuff in the future."

Right... haven't heard that before by every service provider of any media ever.

Hoist the sails, gentlemen. No point in playing the legit game anymore.

 

[Burty117]

Should have got the Top Gear boys...

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Yeah, the uptake is as slow as molasses here. I'm certainly not interested in it at all.

 

[Burty117]

I'm certainly not interested in it at all.

Isn't that you in a nutshell

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Isn't that you in a nutshell

Yeah, you betcha. I'm definitely not a movie or Tinsel Town follower.

 

[RustyTech]

Still the best streaming service around.

 

[wiyosaya]

Isn't that you in a nutshell

Yeah, you betcha. I'm definitely not a movie or Tinsel Town follower.

You must have some interest. After all, you posted to a thread about it.

Still the best streaming service around.

Agreed! No commercials, great original content, good movies for a wide variety of viewing tastes, not to mention the upcoming exclusive Disney movie rights as well as 1080p and 4K content with HDR, and DD+, and all for less $$ than the other services.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

You must have some interest. After all, you posted to a thread about it.
Agreed! No commercials, great original content, good movies for a wide variety of viewing tastes, not to mention the upcoming exclusive Disney movie rights as well as 1080p and 4K content with HDR, and DD+, and all for less $$ than the other services.

I was just commenting on Netflix because I see a lot of ads for it yet everyone I speak to isn't very interested in it.