by Pierre Lorenz on April 19, 2022

Last year, Netflix was still expecting 2.5 million new users in the first quarter of 2022, but in the meantime, the responsible parties are looking at considerably alarming figures. For the first time since October 2011, the streaming giant has lost more subscribers than it has gained, with nearly 200,000 users lost globally. In addition, the stock price plunged by more than 30%, which not only gives shareholders an uneasy feeling.

Reportedly, the first high-ranking employee has already had to leave the company: The talk is of Phil Rynda, who used to be the head of creative development at the animation department. The top management at Netflix in particular has been under fire when it comes to dealing with employees from the animation branch. It is said that entire projects have been dropped several times simply because the people in charge were not pleased with the user statistics, even if the films and series were highly praised by critics and audiences. Talented screenwriters and animation specialists were lured with unequaled freedom, only to discover that the slightest deviation from previously predicted figures put an end to their work. In fact, struggling in-house productions are being unconditionally canceled rather than supported by Netflix, further damaging the streaming service's image.

Others, though, suspect that the causes of the disastrous collapse in subscriber numbers are external factors such as the Ukraine crisis or the service's suspension in Russia. Also, the tests currently underway in the South American countries such as Chile, Costa Rica and Peru to increase the pricing of shared Netflix accounts are not met with enthusiasm. In addition, a system is being planned in which users pay a slightly lower price but see ads in return.

None of this seems to be well received by consumers, so many are switching to competitors like Disney+ or Amazon Prime Video. After all, the selection of streaming services is larger than ever.