In brief: Under-pressure Netflix has just got some more bad news: a new survey suggests that not only is the streaming giant losing customers, but it's the once-loyal long-term subscribers who are abandoning the company they've been with for years.
As reported by The Information, data from analytics firm Antenna shows that 3.6 million people canceled their Netflix subscriptions last quarter. That's over a million more than the previous five quarters, which had seen cancellations hover around the 2.5 million mark.
What's likely to concern Netflix is the type of customers it is losing: 13% of cancellations in the first quarter of this year were from those who had been subscribers for three years or more. That's up from 10% during the same period a year earlier and it was just 5% in the same quarter two years before.
The data, taken from the subscription habits of five million Americans who shared it anonymously, also shows that 60 percent of cancellations last quarter were from those who had signed up to Netflix for less than a year. That's down 10 percent compared to Q1 2021.
Netflix was rocked in April when it reported a net loss of 200,000 subscribers globally during the first quarter, the service's first decline in a decade. Since then, it's talked about ad-supported tiers and password-sharing crackdowns, while fan site Tudum saw many staff let go. This week also brought news that the company has let go of around 150 employees in another round of layoffs.
There are plenty of factors as to why Netflix is losing subscribers. The stay-at-home rules during the pandemic boosted the company's customer numbers, but many are now dropping their subs. There are also rising living costs and inflation, as well as Netflix's long-running habit of canceling popular shows after a season or two. Ultimately, though, consumers might have just reached peak subscription. At least we have livestreaming and a new season of Black Mirror to look forward to.