Rocked by a huge loss of subscribers amid inflation and the war between Russia and Ukraine, leading online streaming platform Netflix has announced that it may offer cheaper plans that have advertisements to bring back the lost users.
This comes as the company reportedly lost 200,000 subscribers in its first quarter – the first such decline in a decade of its services – fuelled by growing competitors, as well as the loss of nearly 700,000 members who suffered when they announced suspension of services in Russia.
Netflix fell well short of its forecast of adding 2.5 million subscribers in the first quarter and had predicted a further loss of 2 million subscribers during the April-June period despite releases like Stranger Things, Better Call Saul and Ozark, and big banner movies like The Grey Man.
Netflix had posted huge growth in the initial months of the Covid-19 pandemic when most people were stuck at home due to lockdowns. However, the same company’s stock went tumbling 26 per cent on Tuesday, erasing almost $40 billion or nearly half of its stock market value.
