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Andrew Willis: Netflix (NFLX) encountered its first streaming subscriber net loss ever in the last quarter, following increased competition and recent price increases to their service – yet management seemed to focus on password sharing and shortages in smart TVs for the loss in customers…
Senior equity analyst Neil Macker says cracking down on the 100 million-plus non-paying households that use Netflix will not be the panacea that investors might expect, while it might be able to squeeze a few bucks out of some subscribers, others might just cancel.
Plus, the last thing a streaming service should do is remind customers of the monthly fees. Yet that seems to be happening a lot recently. And those customers that had a borrowed password? Many of them might not view the service as valuable enough to pay for.
Maintaining a strong audience is also important for things like advertising, where the company is likely to try out lower prices in markets like India, combined with lower-priced ads. This move isn’t likely enough to jumpstart growth, but we do expect it to help make up around 70 million more members by 2026 – so at least Netflix doesn’t seem to be going the way of Blockbuster just yet.
For Morningstar, I’m Andrew Willis.
Editor's Note: All images are courtesy of Unsplash.com and AP Images.