For more than 10 years, the number of people subscribing to Netflix grew and grew. Globally, it amassed more than 220 million subscribers and became the world’s leading streaming service. The company clearly saw no reason why the numbers shouldn’t keep increasing, and had expected to add another 2.5 million subscribers in the first quarter of this year. But things swung dramatically the other way.
Netflix has coyly described this as “revenue growth headwinds”, but the quarterly loss of 200,000 subscribers has prompted debate about its prospects and the health of video streaming in general. The news of a further potential loss of two million subscribers in the next quarter resulted in Netflix's share price slumping by 35 per cent, and its value decreasing by some $55 billion. One investment analyst, Kim Forrest at Bokeh Capital Partners, described Netflix as “a poster child for what happens to growth companies when they lose their growth.”
People were quick to blame Netflix’s content for this unexpected turn of events. The world’s richest man, the reliably controversial Elon Musk, tweeted: “The woke mind virus is making Netflix unwatchable.” Translated, he believes that the streaming platform's efforts to broaden its output to appeal beyond a constituency of straight white men is responsible for its decline.
This is highly debatable, but more credible industry observers such as the Financial Times’ Dave Lee suggested that its archive is “lightweight” and its lack of interest in sport is proving unhelpful in terms of platform loyalty.
Netflix’s reputation has been built on huge hits such as Squid Game and Stranger Things, but its habit of cancelling popular, well-received shows such as The Baby-Sitters Club and Archive 81 after one or two seasons has been loudly questioned.
“They have, over years, actively trained their own viewers not to get invested in the content they produce,” tweeted Casey Explosion, a popular Twitch streamer in Ireland. “It feels like they've become notorious for swift and unexpected cancellations … It's done serious damage to their platform.”
There’s a long history of creative professionals and fans expressing displeasure when those kinds of hard-nosed business decisions are made and Netflix, of course, has data about viewership and platform growth that no outside observers have access to.
Unsurprisingly, then, its chief executive Reed Hastings made no mention of video content when discussing the downturn. Instead, the war in Ukraine was partially blamed; the decision to pull out of the Russian market apparently lost Netflix some 700,000 subscribers. In addition, the war’s impact on an already-stuttering global economy is causing consumers to re-examine their relationships with streaming services.
Hastings famously said in 2017 that Netflix’s main competition didn’t come from other streaming services, but from sleep. Five years on, that’s no longer the case. During the pandemic there was a streaming boom as people scoured the internet for ways to fill their time during lockdown, but today, with the world opening up again, there are other things for us all to do.
Video content is also absurdly plentiful and getting more so; the launch of Disney+ in the UAE in June will bring yet more content to an already saturated market.
As households make financial decisions to balance their budgets, subscription services are proving to be low-hanging fruit. Indeed, Netflix’s recent price increases in many territories has caused people to question whether they are getting value for money. TV writer Joel Morris described on Twitter how Netflix is trapped by what he calls the “tap” model, where content is effectively like water.
“If you raise the price you can’t offer 'more', because it already feels more than we need,” he said. “Upping the cost doesn’t make people think ‘I’ll be getting more’ ... they think ‘That’s too expensive.’”
Netflix’s main plan to counteract the fall in subscriber numbers is to increase revenue by forcing people who share their accounts with other households to pay for the privilege.
In the past, Hastings has described such sharing as “something you have to learn to live with”, but with the number of people sharing accounts estimated at about 100 million, Netflix sees them as an untapped source of cash. It has already tested such a scheme in South America, with users in Peru and Chile having to pay a small premium to add profiles to their account, but with dwindling loyalty to streaming services there is a substantial risk of this backfiring.
Even from a technical perspective, there are doubts as to how Netflix could differentiate between normal use — legitimately accessing it on several devices at home, at work and when staying with family — and account sharing.
Its other plan, at some point in the next two years, is to introduce advertising on low-end plans.
“Allowing consumers who would like to have a lower price and are advertising-tolerant to get what they want makes a lot of sense,” said Hastings.
Netflix has also made a move into the gaming industry, with a version of the popular card game Exploding Kittens soon to be launched as a dual TV series and mobile phone app.
But while Netflix’s current difficulties may have briefly caused a smile to flicker on the lips of its big streaming competitors, it’s likely that the problems that have come to get Netflix are coming to get them all.
It’s all very well copying the Netflix model, but what if that model turns out to be a long-term dud?
Engine: 80 kWh four-wheel-drive
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 402bhp
Torque: 760Nm
Price: From Dh280,000
Friday's schedule in Madrid
Men's quarter-finals
Novak Djokivic (1) v Marin Cilic (9) from 2pm UAE time
Roger Federer (4) v Dominic Thiem (5) from 7pm
Stefanos Tsitsipas (8) v Alexander Zverev (3) from 9.30pm
Stan Wawrinka v Rafael Nadal (2) from 11.30pm
Women's semi-finals
Belinda Bencic v Simona Halep (3) from 4.30pm
Sloane Stephens (8) v Kiki Bertens (7) from 10pm
Fines for littering
In Dubai:
Dh200 for littering or spitting in the Dubai Metro
Dh500 for throwing cigarette butts or chewing gum on the floor, or littering from a vehicle.
Dh1,000 for littering on a beach, spitting in public places, throwing a cigarette butt from a vehicle
In Sharjah and other emirates
Dh500 for littering - including cigarette butts and chewing gum - in public places and beaches in Sharjah
Dh2,000 for littering in Sharjah deserts
Dh500 for littering from a vehicle in Ras Al Khaimah
Dh1,000 for littering from a car in Abu Dhabi
Dh1,000 to Dh100,000 for dumping waste in residential or public areas in Al Ain
Dh10,000 for littering at Ajman's beaches
What is a black hole?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
West Indies v England ODI series:
West Indies squad: Jason Holder (c), Fabian Allen, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Evin Lewis, Ashley Nurse, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, Kemar Roach, Oshane Thomas.
Fixtures:
1st ODI - February 20, Bridgetown
2nd ODI - February 22, Bridgetown
3rd ODI - February 25, St George's
4th ODI - February 27, St George's
5th ODI - March 2, Gros Islet
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
Scoreline:
Cardiff City 0
Liverpool 2
Wijnaldum 57', Milner 81' (pen)
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETelr%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202014%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E65%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%20and%20payments%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enearly%20%2430%20million%20so%20far%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Third Test
Result: India won by 203 runs
Series: England lead five-match series 2-1
Points classification after Stage 4
1. Arnaud Demare (France / FDJ) 124
2. Marcel Kittel (Germany / Quick-Step) 81
3. Michael Matthews (Australia / Sunweb) 66
4. Andre Greipel (Germany / Lotto) 63
5. Alexander Kristoff (Norway / Katusha) 43
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
(All games 4-3pm kick UAE time) Bayern Munich v Augsburg, Borussia Dortmund v Bayer Leverkusen, Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin, Wolfsburg v Mainz , Eintracht Frankfurt v Freiburg, Union Berlin v RB Leipzig, Cologne v Schalke , Werder Bremen v Borussia Monchengladbach, Stuttgart v Arminia Bielefeld
Tewellah by Nawal Zoghbi is out now.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Timeline
1947
Ferrari’s road-car company is formed and its first badged car, the 125 S, rolls off the assembly line
1962
250 GTO is unveiled
1969
Fiat becomes a Ferrari shareholder, acquiring 50 per cent of the company
1972
The Fiorano circuit, Ferrari’s racetrack for development and testing, opens
1976
First automatic Ferrari, the 400 Automatic, is made
1987
F40 launched
1988
Enzo Ferrari dies; Fiat expands its stake in the company to 90 per cent
2002
The Enzo model is announced
2010
Ferrari World opens in Abu Dhabi
2011
First four-wheel drive Ferrari, the FF, is unveiled
2013
LaFerrari, the first Ferrari hybrid, arrives
2014
Fiat Chrysler announces the split of Ferrari from the parent company
2015
Ferrari launches on Wall Street
2017
812 Superfast unveiled; Ferrari celebrates its 70th anniversary
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Brief scores:
Manchester City 3
Bernardo Silva 16', Sterling 57', Gundogan 79'
Bournemouth 1
Wilson 44'
Man of the match: Leroy Sane (Manchester City)
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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