Streaming titan Netflix lost subscribers in the first three months of this year after years of explosive growth, sending the company’s shares plummeting.
After losing 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter, Netflix indicated in its financial results that it could shed a further two million members in the second quarter of this year.
The company lost 700,000 customers when it suspended its service in Russia last month, following the country’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.
Netflix last reported losing customers in October 2011. The Silicon Valley giant’s stock price plunged 18% in after-market trading.
It placed some of the blame for the drop in subscribers on family members sharing the same account, something that the company has recently started to crack down on.
Netflix also pointed to the brewing conflict between giants such as Amazon, Disney, and HBO – dubbed the “streaming wars” – as another reason for a hit to its subscriber numbers.
“The large number of households sharing accounts – combined with competition, is creating revenue growth headwinds. The big COVID boost to streaming obscured the picture until recently,” Netflix said in a statement.