Netflix stock tumbled five percent after revealing that it lost nearly 500,000 subscribers and missed its projected growth rate by more than two million new subscribers.
With a report of the loss of 430,000 subscribers, the lost customers marks the first time the streaming giant has seen such a deficit in more than two years, according to the Financial Times.
Analysts had predicted that Netflix would gain 5.9 million new subscribers in the third quarter, but the streamer put a dampener on that expectation and announced it was only looking to gain 3.5 million.
While new signups surged in 2020, by the third quarter of this year new customers ground to a halt — perhaps due to a rolling back of coronavirus restrictions sending many Americans back to work. Indeed, the California company’s bosses said on a recent call with investors that “The pandemic has created unusual choppiness in our growth.”
“We had those 10 years that were smooth as silk, and we are just a little bit wobbly right now,” Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said.
Former first lady Michelle Obama is launching a new Netflix kids show titled Waffles and Mochi that will promote healthy eating and diverse foods from different cultures. (Netflix)
The company also promised that things would pick up soon with the debut of several highly anticipated series, including The Witcher and Sex Education, not to mention the company’s expansion into online games.
But former Fox News radio host Todd Starnes sees other reasons why it is facing a roadblock to growth. “They’ve gone woke,” Starnes said in a recent posting to his website.
Starnes went on to remind his readers that Netflix lost a lot of customers over the film Cuties, a show that Starnes said, “sexualized little girls.”
ROME, ITALY – OCTOBER 08: Reed Hastings attends the Netflix & Mediaset Partnership Announcement, Rome, 8th October 2019. (Ernesto S. Ruscio/Getty Images / Netflix)
In September of last year, after the movie debuted, it was reported that cancellations of accounts surged over the show.
The firestorm over Cuties erupted before the film even debuted when Netflix had to apologize over the pornographic nature of the film’s promotional poster.
Also, in the aftermath of the release of the film, cancel Netflix began trending on social media.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston.
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