Obamaflix Misses Subscriber Mark for Second Straight Quarter
Quote:Netflix saw disappointing domestic subscriber growth for the third quarter, signaling rougher waters ahead as the streaming giant braces itself for competition from the Walt Disney Company and Apple. This is the second straight quarter in which Netflix has missed its subscriber growth projections.
The streaming giant said Wednesday that it signed up 517,000 new subscribers for the quarter ending in September, significantly off from the more than 800,000 that analysts had been expecting.
Wall Street investors look to Netflix’s subscriber base as the key metric for the company’s future profitability. As Netflix continues to borrow billions of dollars to finance its growing slate of original programming, it will depend on a growing customer base to eventually pay off that debt.
But the Netflix juggernaut is facing stronger headwinds. The streamer shocked Wall Street last quarter when it lost domestic subscribers for the first time in eight years, shedding a whopping 126,000 customers in the U.S.
Some subscribers were turned off by higher prices. Netflix announced its highest price hike ever in January, raising the price of its most popular subscription package to $12.99 from $10.99.
“Since our U.S. price increase earlier this year, retention has not yet fully returned on a sustained basis to pre-price-change levels, which has led to slower U.S. membership growth,” the company said in an investor note on Wednesday.
Consumers will soon have cheaper streaming options at their fingertips. Disney+, which is set to launch next month, will only cost $6.99 a month and will feature movies and TV shows from the combined power of Disney and the recently acquired Fox.
Apple TV+ will cost even less at $4.99 a month, and is also set to launch next month, creating more competition for Netflix, which for years has easily dominated the streaming universe.
Netflix has also alienated many conservative and right-of-center consumers with its close ties to former President Barack Obama, who signed a production deal with the streamer last year. Susan Rice, Obama’s national security advisor, recently joined Netflix’s board of directors.
A survey last year by the research firm YouGov found that Netflix’s positive impression rating with Republicans plummeted 16 percent since the beginning of 2018. Meanwhile, the company’s positive impression rating among Democrats rose by 15 percent in the same period.
Despite disappointing subscriber results, Netflix shares rose in after-hours trading Wednesday after the company reported quarterly earnings that exceeded guidance.
RE: Obamaflix Misses Subscriber Mark for Second Straight Quarter
(10-18-2019 03:51 PM)Jugnaut Wrote: I absolutely believe Disney will end up killing them off.
They will certainly hurt them, but Disney alone won't kill them off. Netflix has a much much wider range of material to attract people. We got the Disney+ three year deal when they ran it because we have a 4 and 7 year old, but I wouldn't get rid of Netflix
RE: Obamaflix Misses Subscriber Mark for Second Straight Quarter
(10-19-2019 10:26 PM)Niner National Wrote: I'm honestly amazed they still sign as many new subscribers as they do. I don't know a single soul without Netflix.
This. Who are these people who don’t have Netflix and are signing up now, in 2019? 500k is pretty impressive.
Tucked wayyyyy down at the bottom of this clearly unbiased Breitbart article:
“Despite disappointing subscriber results, Netflix shares rose in after-hours trading Wednesday after the company reported quarterly earnings that exceeded guidance.”
Many on this board seems to live in a fantasy world where the outrage of the vast conservative majority has killed companies like the NFL, Gillette, Netflix, ESPN, etc. Correlation does not imply causation lol.
RE: Obamaflix Misses Subscriber Mark for Second Straight Quarter
(10-19-2019 10:26 PM)Niner National Wrote: I'm honestly amazed they still sign as many new subscribers as they do. I don't know a single soul without Netflix.
I guess the analysts expecting 800,000 didn't think about potential market saturation /sarcasm
500k is a lot, but it's a big miss vis a vis 800k
There really aren't that many people who would pick (or not) Netflix based on the deal with Obama.
RE: Obamaflix Misses Subscriber Mark for Second Straight Quarter
(10-19-2019 10:26 PM)Niner National Wrote: I'm honestly amazed they still sign as many new subscribers as they do. I don't know a single soul without Netflix.
Maybe it's mostly college kids signing up for themselves instead of being on mom and pop's account? I know my HS senior doesn't watch anything but Netflix or Hulu, and she may be at a loss next year (although maybe a lot of schools offer those services for free?).
Things get worse for Netflix too in the coming months as Apple and Disney start their new services within the next 30 days.
RE: Obamaflix Misses Subscriber Mark for Second Straight Quarter
Speaking of Netflix, this is a little mini-controversy with them, but it's kind of amusing at the same time. Tom Brady has a cameo in a new Paul Rudd comedy where Brady comes out of a seedy massage parlor all happy and fulfilled. He claims it's not a knock at Bob Kraft, and that this scene was written years ago (and agreed to a year ago) and filmed on a green scene.
RE: Obamaflix Misses Subscriber Mark for Second Straight Quarter
(10-19-2019 10:26 PM)Niner National Wrote: I'm honestly amazed they still sign as many new subscribers as they do. I don't know a single soul without Netflix.
I'm one of those people that don't have netflix, but I wont ever signup. I hate subscription services, I avoid them at all costs.
Im guessing the bulk of new signups are young people who are no longer living with Mommy and Daddy, or finally moved out of a Dorm so they have to get their own account.
(10-20-2019 10:29 AM)HappyAppy Wrote: Tucked wayyyyy down at the bottom of this clearly unbiased Breitbart article: “Despite disappointing subscriber results, Netflix shares rose in after-hours trading Wednesday after the company reported quarterly earnings that exceeded guidance.”
Didn't they raise their rates? I thought I remember hearing about that within the last month or two. If so that would account for the increase in earnings that was not projected when they made their prior quarter projections without those increased service fees.
(This post was last modified: 10-20-2019 07:44 PM by q5sys.)