In the year of producing global hits such as “Squid Game” in 2021, the streaming giant, Netflix’s fourth-quarter returns still show the company struggling to maintain a lead over its rivals. The firm portrays a downward trend in its predictions for new subscriber growth this quarter, adding 8.3 million as opposed to its projected 8.5 million — it also projects to add just 2.5 million subscribers in Q1 2022, down from 4 million last year.
Netflix Reports Lowest Downward Trend Numbers in Subscriber Growth
Altogether, this year marks a downward trend in subscriber growth — it’s the firm’s lowest growth year since 2015 and about a 50% drop from its pandemic-inflated 2020 numbers. “Consumers have always had many choices when it comes to their entertainment time — a competition that has only intensified over the last 24 months as entertainment companies all around the world develop their own streaming offering,” the firm wrote in its note to shareholders, revealing that “competition may be affecting [its] marginal growth some.”
Disney Concluded 2021 With 179 Million Subscribers Across All its Platforms
Furthermore, while Netflix has about 222 million total subscribers, larger conglomerates such as Disney (which also owns Hulu and ESPN) have continued to develop its subscriber growth at a more assertive pace. Disney ended 2021 with 179 million total subscribers across Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+, and it intends to double the number of countries that Disney+ is available in by fiscal 2023.
Read more: Netflix confirms Squid Games Season 2
In addition to this, Disney also declared the creation of an International Content and Operations group to grow its direct-to-consumer streaming internationally. HBO Max is expanding too — the company said that December had been its most-viewed month since the service’s launch in May 2020. “We are open to licensing, accessing large game IP that people will recognize,” said Netflix COO Greg Peters during the investor call. “I think you will see some of that happen over the year to come.”
Source: TechCrunch
