Subscriber Decline for the First Time in 11 Years
Netflix "Password Sharing and Others Are the Causes"
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Netflix, the world's largest online video service (OTT) that has shaken Hollywood for over the past decade, recorded a decline in subscribers for the first time in 11 years.
On the 19th (local time), Netflix announced in a statement that it experienced a loss of 200,000 customers in the first quarter of this year. This is the first time since 2011 that the number of subscribers has decreased. Netflix projected that an additional 2 million customers would be lost in the second quarter.
Initially, Wall Street expected Netflix to gain 2.5 million customers in the first quarter. As subscriber performance fell significantly short of expectations, Netflix's stock price, which had already dropped more than 40% this year, extended its decline to 26% in after-hours trading.
The company's first-quarter revenue increased by 9.8% year-on-year to $7.87 billion, falling short of analysts' estimates of $8.23 billion. Netflix's management cited the spread of password sharing and intensified competition as reasons for the subscriber decline. The company stated that in addition to 221.6 million subscribers, there are 100 million households using the service without paying separately.
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