Netflix shares plunge after report of subscriber drop

NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES (UPI) — Netflix, once the king of streaming, saw its shares tumble 37% Wednesday after its earnings report revealed that its lost subscribers for the first time in more than a decade. The media company said it lost a net 200,000 subscribers in the first three months of the year even though it added 500,000 worldwide. It lost 700,000 subscribers in Russia after pulling out of the country because of its invasion of Ukraine followed by sanctions. Netflix also faced other headwinds, leaving the company bracing for expected subscriber losses of up to 2 million during this quarter. “Our revenue growth has slowed considerably,” Netflix said in a letter to shareholders, according to The Washington Post. Netflix faces a new age in streaming content as former partners have started their own services. With COVID-19 lockdowns ending or dwindling, it has also left fewer consistent viewers to fill the now crowded streaming space. “Although their plans to reaccelerate growth (limiting password sharing and an ad model) have merit, by their own admission they won’t have a noticeable impact until ’24, a long time to wait on what is now a ‘show me story,'” Bank of America analysts said in a Wednesday note, according to CNBC. Netflix is still projecting a growth in revenue of almost $8 billion this quarter and will also hold on to 220 million subscribers. Reporting by Clyde Hughes