There are too many films, movies and series to watch, more than anyone can handle in a single lifetime.
What began as magnetic tapes used for storing sounds, and would later used to store moving images, the entertainment industry has shifted tremendously fast since the VHS, and later, the internet.
And on the internet, pioneers include Netflix.
The American subscription streaming service and production company which has been in business since 1997, utilized the internet to deliver subscription service to users, allowing people to watch anything at anytime, on their devices.
It was in January 2007, when the company began launching a streaming media service, introducing video on demand via the Internet. At the time, it only had 1,000 films available for streaming, compared to 70,000 available on DVD.
Fast forward, as of April 2022, Netflix had 17,000 titles globally. That number is far, far more, if all the episodes for every series in a single number are included.
While it doesn't list all movies ever created, it does list many of the most popular ones.
As a result, Netflix entered the multi-billion dollar internet-powered business that is so appealing, that sooner than later, it also quickly got itself some major competitors.
And this time, Netflix admitted for the first time, that its business is struggling.
During a dire turn in the first quarter of 2022, the company reported a loss of 200,000 subscribers globally compared to 2021's fourth quarter. While losing a huge amount of users, Netflix still has more than 200 million subscribers, so it’s still the largest streamer.
But still, its problem is not over, because it is forecasting even bigger losses to come.
Netflix estimates that it could lose up to 2 million subscribers in the second quarter.
"Our revenue growth has slowed considerably," Netflix said in a letter to its shareholders..
"Covid clouded the picture by significantly increasing our growth in 2020, leading us to believe that most of our slowing growth in 2021 was due to the Covid pull forward."
It is said that Netflix's first monthly subscription increase in two years, as well as its password sharing policy, are the ones to blame.
The company admits it’s getting harder to grow, says password sharing is partially to blame
The streaming giant has indicated that it is tightening the rules regarding users who share passwords and login information with others, as it seeks to maximize revenue from the users it already has.
Netflix does because it estimates that as 100 million households are already sharing passwords.
"It’s harder to grow membership in many markets," as a result of the situation, Netflix said.
Zooming out, the slowdown in signups is also a reflective of a more competitive streaming landscape.
While considered the largest of them all, Netflix is contending with more rival services than ever before, each vying for consumer eyeballs and attention. They include: YouTube, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and others.
As the competition is also getting cheaper, it’s no surprise that Netflix’s growth has become more difficult as years pass.
Another notable news, is Netflix losing at least 700,000 users due to suspending its service in Russia, after Russian President's Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine.
"Our plan is to reaccelerate our viewing and revenue growth by continuing to improve all aspects of Netflix — in particular the quality of our programming and recommendations, which is what our members value most," Netflix said in its earnings letter.
"On the content side, we’re doubling down on story development and creative excellence.” The company noted that “on the product side, we recently launched ‘double thumbs up’ so members can better express what they truly love versus simply like - enabling us to continue to improve our personalized recommendations and overall experience.” Netflix also says international success is critical to its future. “Over the longer term, much of our growth will come from outside the US," the company said.
The company is also exploring more ways to bring in more customers.
Among the ways, include its wider expansion to gaming,