Netflix shared its numbers for the fourth quarter of 2021 and its forecast for 2022. Although the number of subscribers is still on the rise, the growth is no longer as strong as before. A first brilliance in the reign without division of the platform which must face an increasingly fierce competition.
Apparently, the end of 2021 was good for Netflix, in particular thanks to its flagship series La Casa de Papel, but also and above all thanks to the surprise triumph of Squid Game, a phenomenon that no one saw coming. However, these performances are misleading, since the number of subscribers is below forecasts.
The Californian firm has shared its figures for the end of 2021 and if they remain positive, they still show a slowdown in the number of new customers. A first. Netflix now has 221.8 million subscribers, which is less than the expected 222 million. The target is narrowly missed, but it is missed. In reality, it is more the year 2022 that worries.
Netflix isn’t gaining as many subscribers as it used to
Netflix is revising its 2022 forecast downwards. During this first quarter of 2022, the company expects to gain 2.5 million new customers. This figure is quite simply the lowest since 2010, the start of the streaming era. For comparison, Netflix gained 4 million subscribers in the first quarter of 2021 and 8 million in the last quarter of the same year. The release of successes such as season 2 of The Witcher or Don’t look up in the last days of 2021 have also been a welcome boost for the platform, which remains below its forecasts.
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This is a first crack in the absolute reign of Netflix on the world of streaming. However, this slowdown is not (yet) the sign of the beginning of the end. he can be explained by several factors. The covid, first of all, weighs on the economy and slows down the production of series. The lack of strong success at the start of the year then, since Netflix does not expect big success before next March and the release of season 2 of Bridgerton. The disappointment of some fans with the content is also to be taken into account. The Cowboy Bebop series did not convince the public, in addition to having been very expensive to produce. We can also mention the arrival of the market to saturation or the regular rise in the price of subscriptions.
But the main cause of this brake is also the emergence of serious competitors, like Amazon Prime Video but also Disney+. Disney’s platform is increasingly challenging Netflix’s hegemony. In two years, it has gathered nearly 120 million subscribers.
Netflix is not dead, far from it, and still remains the solid market leader. However, the first cracks are beginning to appear in his reign and it is up to the company to repair them quickly. For that, there is no secret: we must continue to produce more and more successful series.
