Netflix Rethinks its Business after Subscriber Loss

Netflix, the streaming icon with more than 220 million subscribers, continues to make changes to its business practices amid the fallout from its first quarter earnings, in which its revealed it had a loss of subscribers (many of them long-standing members) for the first time in a decade. Undermining investor confidence in the future of the streaming market, the company's shares dropped by as much as 37% last month.
The subscriber and revenue loss has pushed Netflix to trim its expenses through layoffs, cutting 150 jobs just this week. And by Netflix’s own account, the pain is far from over, as the company forecast to lose an additional 2 million subscribers next quarter, according to Fortune.
Things are getting desperate for Netflix, and, after years of disrupting the traditional movie and television industry, it might be turning into the very thing it once came so close to destroying by reportedly considering major movie premieres, and adding commercials to their streaming business model.
According to the Wall Street Journal, for Netflix Inc., the era of carefree spending is over. The streaming giant ran up a huge bill over the past several years as it expanded across the globe and produced a mountain of programming, prioritizing growth over cost efficiency. Now the company is imposing more financial discipline, according to senior executives.
Netflix, Facing Reality Check, Vows to Curb Its Profligate Ways (Wall Street Journal)
As for another possible revenue opportunity, the Washington Post reports that Netflix has also been betting big on gaming. After announcing its intentions to explore the video game space last July, the streaming service hired multiple executives to significant positions on its gaming vertical over the past few months, while releasing mobile games like "Stranger Things: 1984."
Amid losses, Netflix bets on a bold strategy around video games (Washington Post)
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