Netflix is coming out with cheaper subscriptions
The news that Netflix had fewer users this first quarter (as many as 200,000) than three months before I actually found quite striking. Literally everyone I know has Netflix (is there anyone who doesn't have it? I'm genuinely curious about that), so would that mean that all those 200,000 people have started sharing their subscription or switched to a family plan in three months? Either way, this was bad news for Netflix.
And of course, something had to be done about that, as director Reed Hastings indicated right after the announcement of these quarterly figures. He already gave a hint: they would look into working with advertisements. And such a subscription seems to be coming, and indeed this year.
The fact that they are reacting so quickly may also be due to the fact that the second quarter is often the weakest quarter of the year, so there is a good chance they will have to present even worse figures then. Add to that the fact that Russian viewers have been cut off from the streaming service due to the war with Ukraine, and you can be pretty sure that the figures wouldn't be very good.
So what does Netflix do? Lower the price. That will of course make a lot of people happy. But then you do get advertisements in return. Where, how, and when those advertisements will come is still not entirely clear, nor how much it will affect the price. But honestly: I think a lot of people will go for it because of this.
Apparently, many subscriptions have been canceled due to the end of the pandemic. During corona, Netflix was of course our BFF, but now that life is ‘normal’ again, we don't necessarily need it seven days a week. And if you have to pay an amount for it every month, that can be too much for some. A cheaper subscription could then really entice people again.
This new subscription will likely be launched in the last quarter of 2022. Personally, I am completely happy with my ad-free Netflix subscription, so don't worry, Mr. Hastings: I'm not breaking up with you.
