Despite the overwhelming success of the latest season of Stranger Things on Netflix, new data seems to indicate that the streamer is struggling to keep new subscribers as some of their newest customers seem to think they aren’t really getting their money’s worth.
According to the new data from Antenna, via Vox, Netflix subscribers are more likely to ditch the subscription service in the first month compared to the subscribers of any of its streaming competitors. This news seems to coincide with the news that Netflix revealed this spring that they lost 200,000 subscribers in the first three months of the year. They were also expected to lose another 2 million in the second quarter of the year. For a platform spending around $17 billion a year on new content, that can’t be good news. You can check out an image of the subscriber trends below!
The data was gathered by Antenna, a research service that tracks consumer spending on subscription services. They said that the information comes from a panel of 5 million American consumers and does not include free trials, bundles, or special offers.
The big mystery is why are Netflix subscribers subsequently canceling the service? Some blame the recent price hike while others say the quality of the content plays a big factor in why subscribers aren’t sticking around. Keep in mind that all of their content isn’t Stranger Things. They have their fair share of stinkers, particularly some of their original films.
There is also speculation that this is why Stranger Things’ release for season four was split up into two parts. The first chunk was released on May 27 while the last two episodes don’t drop until tomorrow, July 1. Some think this was done so some users won’t ditch the service after just one month. It’s not a bad strategy and I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the current thinking behind their release model.
Netflix still has some 220 million subscribers, which is more than any of its competitors, but you can see some of its shine coming off a bit. They used to be the clear winner of the streaming wars but now the competition has stepped up its game. Netflix can no longer do the bare minimum to win.
What are YOUR thoughts on some subscribers dropping Netflix after only a month?