Netflix Shares Crater 20% After Company Reports it Lost Subscribers For the First Time in More Than 10 Years (cnbc.com) 114
Shares of Netflix cratered more than 20% on Tuesday after the company reported a loss of 200,000 subscribers during the first quarter. This is the first time the streamer has reported a subscriber loss in more than a decade. From a report: The company also said it expects to lose 2 million subscribers in the second quarter. A loss of 200,000 compared with 2.73 million adds expected, according to StreetAccount estimates. Netflix previously told shareholders it expected to add 2.5 million net subscribers during the first quarter. Analysts had predicted that number will be closer to 2.7 million. The company said that the suspension of its service in Russia and the winding-down of all Russian paid memberships resulted in a loss of 700,000 subscribers. Excluding this impact, Netflix would have seen 500,000 net additions during the most recent quarter.
Keep digging (Score:5, Insightful)
Better bump up the price again and force more autoplaying of videos when I'm trying to browse.
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Re:Keep digging (Score:5, Insightful)
Aha. Not just me then that thinks the UI has gotten worse and worse over time.
It apparently all needs to be more. More Flashy. More Intrusive. More Bigger.
I just want a list of movies/series, and I'm perfectly able to CLICK on something that looks interesting, instead of trying to hunt down which part of the screen doesn't force some sort of auto playing loud popup to be able to scroll past all the more auto popping POPUP FUCK YOU GARBAGE @$*(&@$
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True, auto-play is fucking obnoxious.
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It's possible to turn auto-play off though.
Also, I've maintained ever since Netflix started offering app-ified versions, that it's easier to browse using a desktop web browser and add shit to your queue than to scroll around whatever TV interface you're given on your set top box.
Re:Keep digging (Score:5, Informative)
Is it? I looked once years ago, but that wasn't an option at the time.
For anyone who doesn't want to look it up:
Manage Profiles -> [your profile] -> Autoplay controls -> Autoplay previews
Or just cancel your subscription. Either way works.
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It is not possible to turn off autoplay. You can turn off SOME of the autoplay, but not all of it. The children at NetFlix seem to have difficulty with this and have had for a long time.
As a side note, Kodi works well for NetFlix, does not autoplay (ever), and is not obnoxious (plus it can set the refresh rate properly, which the NetFlix children seem to be unable to do).
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It's possible to turn auto-play off though.
Can you share how? I have an Amazon Fire Stick and have not found a way to disable the autoplay of trailers, which is the main reason my netflix love has gone really cold.
Re:Keep digging (Score:5, Insightful)
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I get pretty good performance with HBO's app on my Shield (the red bull can one) though their app still sucks. I have halfway decent internet these days (400Mbps cable, which actually delivers too) and between having a decent piece of hardware (shame about the software) and decent internet speeds the experience has really improved. I just wish the app made any sense. It's just visually confusing as to how I get to where I want to go. I don't use it that much (I don't watch much TV) so I haven't trained myse
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Yes, and while they're at it, maybe they should cancel more shows after three seasons because their algorithm shows them that this is optimal and definitely not likely to make people not trust them to let their shows actually have an ending.
That's actually a surprisingly good point.
Broadcast networks are constrained by the number of slots they have in a day. Giving a show a final season, or even a finale, is a really significant commitment. A final season typically only happens when the producers themselves want to call it quits.
But Netflix doesn't have a limited number of timeslots, their only constraint is budgetary. Giving a money-losing show a final season (or at least a finale) might not be short-term economical, but it builds goodwill wi
Re:Keep digging (Score:5, Insightful)
Not just goodwill. How many people hold off watching new shows until they know the shows will either last or have an ending with closure?
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Netflix used to do final seasons of shows that were cancelled by other networks. It was one of the best things about them, created so much goodwill back then. Now they are getting to be just like the guys they were trying to replace.
Re: Keep digging (Score:2)
The few shows they are planning on finishing they're delaying to the point of being irrelevant. Their original films have fucking sucked, if people weren't starved for content during Pandemic they'd have flopped hard. They're missing out on most
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maybe they should cancel more shows after three seasons because their algorithm shows them that this is optimal
That's not even algorithm... that's the logical conclusion of modern trends.
Shows are no longer made to be broadcast on TV channels - where, let's remember, their raison d'etre was the money gotten from sponsors and syndication.
The money now comes from subscribers. Who want what they've paid for, and what was advertised - NOW.
And the way to keep them paying is by making them forget the upfront cost.
Thus, there are no longer pilot episodes - they are replaced by pilot seasons. Often disguised as "mini-series
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Better bump up the price again and force more autoplaying of videos when I'm trying to browse.
Exactly - the autoplaying videos made me I stop browsing Netflix a long time and now only fire it up, when I learn about new netflix content through friends or late night talk shows like Colbert. Any the animated "skip intro" button and ads on top of the end credits annoy me any time I watch something that I really like.
Currently too lazy to quit, but it needs one more drop of annoyance and they'll lose me as a paying costumer.
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[..] and force more autoplaying of videos when I'm trying to browse.
PSA: Autoplay previews while browsing is a setting you can disable on a per-profile basis.
Go to your account settings at https://www.netflix.com/YourAc... [netflix.com]
In Profile & Parental Controls, find your profile and then click Change next to Playback Settings.
Under the Autoplay Controls section, uncheck Autoplay Previews While Browsing on All Devices. Save your changes.
Enjoy!
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I verified my setting do have those options off, but they still autoplay crap. This is on Roku devices. When I am browsing my list or anywhere, a little trailer starts playing. When I've selected something I want to watch (say a TV show) the next episode starts playing behind the menu. I have to "play" and then pause to get it to hold on.
And then there is the obnoxious way they try to jump out of the credits and cover them with suggestions for something else. I want a default to just leave the credits alone
Shit Shows, High Price (Score:5, Informative)
And when they have good show they cancel after 3 years. I unsubscribe for a year or two, subscribe for a month or two to see if it has improved and watch the very few things worth watching, then unsubscribe again. Done that a few times. The times between resubscribing get longer and longer.
After Hours Trading (Score:4, Interesting)
The stock closed up for today. However, this news wasn't public until the market closed.
Bigger (Score:1)
I doubt there will such a large drop during regular trading hours.
Fewer people trading in after hours. Tomorrow is when the big drop really hits as skittish retail investors run.
Re:Bigger (Score:5, Insightful)
Don't worry about low volume swings in price. When the price swings with high volume, pay close attention.
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Fewer people trading amplifies price swings.
It's not swings when it's all one direction. More losses in the morning. I know what you are talking about and this ain't it.
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It will go up if people expect subscriptions to increase. Do you expect them to increase?
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Well, the volume is high this morning. And it can keep dropping for a while.
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Yet another slashdot story that smells a lot like market manipulation.
Slashdot don't run cnbc.com.
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Luv new version of Othello where EVERYONE is black (Score:2)
Now I just have to find out why everyone hates that guy.
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New? The only version of Othello with an all-black cast is 42 years old. There have been many versions of Othello since then, including one released in 2020. None of those have an all-black cast.
Get over it already.
Price hikes (Score:2)
Classic. If you increase prices you don't necessarily make more money, as you might just sell less. I like their service, they do have some good content, sadly they've lost quite a lot of third party stuff due to Paramount/Disney etc starting their own, so I think it's currently too expensive for what it offers. Yes, they are spending like crazy producing content, but they should probably be more careful about where they are spending (lots of crap gets made along with some good), instead of increasing the p
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Disney+ is the reason why I haven't watched anything on Netflix for a while, and considering temporarily dropping them. Disney+ has so much new stuff for me to watch, including a total of over a decade of shows to catch up to (Simpsons, Family Guy, etc) that I haven't had time for Netflix. Will Disney make the same stupid decisions in a decade? I guess we'll have to wait and see.
The real competition between Netflix and Disney is to see which one can make the better shows and keep making each show up to its
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Not that it really changes much, but the article says they were already unionized (IATSE), and were striking for a better contract.
Re: I ditched them a month ago... (Score:2)
First time in a decade? (Score:1)
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Slashdot dupes are becoming more insidious :)
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They lost me (Score:3, Interesting)
Netflix used to be one of the services I stayed with, even as I canceled and came back to other services.
I can't remember exactly why, but at some point several months ago I just started to realize I wasn't watching Netflix much and the shows I was watching were just filler, with a lot of the new shows they were offering being of zero interest to me. So I dropped it.
I still subscribe off and on to catch up to some things - and I'm pretty sure I'll be back for Stranger Things. But they no longer have the firm grip on me they used to.
back to pre-pandemic level (Score:2)
If they couldn't predict this... (Score:2)
What did they expect, when every time they get a new show with an interesting premise they cancel it before the first episode even airs for "poor viewership" or some reason? Boy, I sure can't wait to get a single season of Sandman before they cancel that, just like everything else I've enjoyed. The graveyard is so big now I can't even remember most of the names. One of the recent ones that stings is Jupiter's Legacy. That had great potential, but no, they nixed it before the first season was finished.
Fake news (Score:1)
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They lost a subscriber years ago when I canceled.
If we're playing the pedant game...
"This is the first time the streamer has reported a subscriber loss in more than a decade."
Could you please link me to where Netflix reported losing you as a subscriber? I appear to have missed that press release from them. I certainly would have dumped my stock if that had been properly disclosed to me.
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Oh, no! Not diversity! Whatever will you do if you see character that's not straight and white?
Now I don't care if a character is gay, straight, whatever..
You very obviously care a great deal. Your whole post is one big boo-hoo about seeing diverse characters on TV, after all. Why tell such an obvious lie? Who are you trying to convince?
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Over-representation of a small group unless part of the plot can and will pull you out of the experience.
About 15% of women in the US have alopecia. Would you think it weird if 70% the women on your TV show were bald?
About 20% of men in the US have a mustache (varies WILDLY by state), would you find it odd if 80% of the men on the show had one?
5% of people in the US are vegetarians, I DO find it strange that there is at least one vegetarian in every TV show (usually it's more).
So yes, if the show is half LG
Re: Not just Netflix... (Score:2)
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Oh, no! Not diversity! Whatever will you do if you see character that's not straight and white?
Yes, because who cares about immersion-breaking black female Viking chieftain, right?
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If you don't like it, watch something else. You don't need to cry about it, snowflake.
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Apparently you care enough to make it up. Do you have any real examples?
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We went from historically inaccurate character to they gender swapped a fictional character who lives on the other side of the galaxy.
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I think there were only two characters - hardly half the cast.
However, I really don't need to see characters on a sci fi going at it whether they are straight, bi, gay, alien, or going hard at it solo.
Sex scenes in movies and TV shows used to make me uncomfortable as a kid, and as an adult now just bore me.
I love sex, but if I want to watch it I'll go to one of the many specialty sites available on the internet. I really don't need to see extended scenes of characters snogging each other on screen.
Re:Not just Netflix... (Score:5, Insightful)
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Maybe the problem is that you don't see anything other than the fact that they're LGBTQ.
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The problem, I think isn't that there are too many or too few 'diverse' characters on TV. There would be absolutely nothing wrong with an all-black cast, for example, in a movie set in a sub-Saharan African country. The problem is shoehorning 'diverse' characters in a role where they don't belong organically. This will necessarily result in a show being worse, because it now has a character that doesn't make sense within the context of the show. Do it enough and it will result in a really bad show/movie. So
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I find it weird that the word 'diverse' has come to mean non-white non-straight.
This isn't a complicated concept, but bigots really seem to struggle with it.
The opposite of diversity is homogeneity.
If you had an all-black cast, then the only way to add diversity to your show would be to add non-black characters.
When the default for the last 100+ years (longer if you count other media) has been straight and white, then the only way to introduce diversity is to add non-white and non-straight characters.
Sometimes it's like the writers/producers expect some sort of medal for including such characters, even though in 2022 there is nothing brave or new about it.
Or, you know, because inclusion makes the show better and makes it more appealing to a
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If you had an all-black cast, then the only way to add diversity to your show would be to add non-black characters.
This right here is exactly what I was talking about. One black man can be a very different person from another black man, and not just because one is gay and another is straight. People have different personalities, different levels of intelligence, different views. 'Black people' are not a hive mind, neither are 'white people'. But this definition of 'diversity' almost makes it sound like all there is to a person is their race (and/or sexuality?).
Or, you know, because inclusion makes the show better and makes it more appealing to a wider audience.
Does having a cast from many different races automatically
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I see you're still struggling with the basic concept of diversity. At this point, it's willful.
But this definition of 'diversity' almost makes it sound like all there is to a person is their race (and/or sexuality?).
That is YOUR definition. The only people with that idiotic idea are bigots like you.
A person's race and their sexuality not the whole of a person, but those things are certainly part of the person. You're throwing a hissy-fit over it, for some reason.
For me, it doesn't matter if the characters are black, white, purple, whatever
Liar. If a persons race and sexuality didn't matter to you, you wouldn't be crying over seeing non-white or non-straight people on TV like a melting snowflake.
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It's becoming more and more rare to actually see that these days it seems.
Even if the character or person historically was...
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I'd hardly call it "rare", but it's certainly got a few people here spooked. What, exactly, is that that you're afraid of?
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I discontinued all streaming services because I got tired of being force fed virtue signaling for the sake of virtue signaling.
Most shows skip any real premise, but they make sure to fill the cast with 'diversity'.
Star Trek Discovery has been by far the worst offender that I've seen. Now I don't care if a character is gay, straight, whatever.. but my gawd, half the cast?!
Discovery is the first Star Trek show I have ever stopped watching and will never see all the episodes.
It isn't just the "diversity", it is the fact that 90% of the show is about relationship BS (gay, straight, trans or otherwise) instead of actual -- you know -- sci fi.
I really hope Picard doesn't head down the same path. I mean making 7 of 9 gay?!? Really? That just wasn't needed.
I have also seen every episode (that is available -- some are lost) of Doctor Who, except the Jodi Whittaker episodes. There wa
Re:Not just Netflix... (Score:4, Insightful)
I agree. I've stopped watching Picard too, it's just not very good, and shows no real promise of getting better.
I don't think having a female Doctor Who is a terrible idea. Jodi Whittaker was just a terrible actress. She didn't care about the show and didn't watch the previous episodes (she said this). It was just about having an equality axe to grind. It could have gone to an actress who was excited about the role, cared about the show, and actually wanted to do it.
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Picard's problem has nothing to do with diversity. The issue is that a lot of it is just fan service. References and in-jokes, catching up with characters whose lives are actually just mundane now. That screws up the pacing and you end up with a story that could have been a couple of hours getting spread over an entire season.
Season 2 seems to have taken a big hit to the writing too. It's just bad in a lot of places. Rios is in an ICE concentration camp seeing fellow inmates being casually brutalized, and a
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I agree. I've stopped watching Picard too, it's just not very good, and shows no real promise of getting better.
I don't think having a female Doctor Who is a terrible idea. Jodi Whittaker was just a terrible actress. She didn't care about the show and didn't watch the previous episodes (she said this). It was just about having an equality axe to grind. It could have gone to an actress who was excited about the role, cared about the show, and actually wanted to do it.
It wouldn't have mattered. The scripts were just fucking awful. Wrong script editor, and probably the wrong actress as well. I don't think Whittaker is a bad actress but as you said, someone who actually cared about the role can't have failed to produce a better performance.
Re:Not just Netflix... (Score:5, Insightful)
Now I don't care if a character is gay, straight, whatever.. but my gawd, half the cast?!
So in other words, you do care.
I got tired of being force fed virtue signaling for the sake of virtue signaling [...] Star Trek Discovery[...]
Lol Yeah Star Trek has never been about social issues, diversity, etc. :facepalm:
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Now I don't care if a character is gay, straight, whatever.. but my gawd, half the cast?!
So in other words, you do care.
I got tired of being force fed virtue signaling for the sake of virtue signaling [...] Star Trek Discovery[...]
Lol Yeah Star Trek has never been about social issues, diversity, etc. :facepalm:
Not to be confused with the closeted manchild GP, but I gave up on ST:D after season one...
Star Trek had always pushed the boundaries when it came to confronting societal biases and prejudices. Race and gender in TOS, age and disability in TNG, the thing is, every ST series before ST:D never made a huge deal out of it. Uhura, a black woman on the bridge of a military starship in 1960's America and everyone acted like she belonged there, as if it were nothing unusual, same with a black or female captain (
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Not to be confused with the closeted manchild GP, but I gave up on ST:D after season one...
I gave up on it at some point, not sure when. Not really an active decision, I just stopped feeling like going back and at some point didn't. It was pretty daft...
Star Trek had always pushed the boundaries when it came to confronting societal biases and prejudices. Race and gender in TOS, age and disability in TNG, the thing is, every ST series before ST:D never made a huge deal out of it. Uhura, a black woman on the
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There are two characters on Discovery who are gay (and living together). If that's too much for you, the problem is you.
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You probably clutched your pearls when Kirk kissed Lt. Uhura, too.
It couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of idiots. (Score:3)
I'm sorry, Netflix used to be a place where you could watch a movie. Now it's turned into some sort of social experiment gone wrong and they want to keep
charging you more for it.
Sorry, I was a long-time subscriber and left them in 2017 and it's good to see them hurt and maybe the board of directors will finally do their jobs.
All the good shows are gone (Score:2)
It was good while it lasted, but then people got too greedy
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Netflilx is still attracting new subscribers. The problem is the large turnover of long term users since we adapted to living with covid. I'm one too. Black Mirror, Stranger Things, The Crown were all great but I don't really want to watch them again. It's been about two years since I switched to a live sports package which allows two simultaneous streams. The movie/series streaming landscape is in need of some consolidation. There's too little quality spread across too many services.
And this is exactly what I was saying years ago, when all the random TV networks started spinning up their own streaming services. As the number of services goes up, the amount of money people will be willing to spend per service goes down, and if prices don't go down to match, subscriber numbers will go down instead.
For Netflix, people apparently were working around that by sharing passwords. And Netflix cracked down, so they bled customers. The more they tighten their grip, the more viewers will slip t
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As the number of services goes up, the amount of money people will be willing to spend per service goes down
Well, there's at least two types of customers, the two worth noting here though are the kind who want to see everything new and the kind who give no shits. The first kind is the kind you're talking about. I for one am willing to spend a certain amount of money based on how much content there is I'm interested in. It's hard to get me to spend more than ten bucks a month. I will get only one or two services. That means there's lots of stuff I'm not watching, so what. I don't like to have conversations about T
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Not only that, but they tied video quality to tiers that also happen to allow multiple users.
That really screws single people who only want slightly higher quality than 480p.
The fact that I could stream Disney+ in 4K for cheaper than Netflix in 1080p just points out how ridiculous Netflix's pricing strategy is.
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Ads coming (Score:2)
GR8 (Score:2)
Great! Now what am I meant to do with the Netflix button on my remote? Can it be repurposed?!
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Great! Now what am I meant to do with the Netflix button on my remote? Can it be repurposed?!
The same thing I do with the Hulu button on mine: ignore it. Hulu lost me a few years back when they radically changed the look and function of their interface.
Netflix hires Mr. Morden to ask What do you want? (Score:2)
No, not for my people to reclaim their rightful place in the galaxy. Nor do I want to see the Centauri stretch forth their hand again and command the stars.
I want you to stop cancelling shows because your algorithm says to. I keep my expensive deluxe subscription because my brother and sister-in-law get some use out of it, otherwise I'd likely cancel it, like they did to Dark Matter, and The Santa Clarita Diet.
You took Drew Barrymore from me, and Android!
The heyday for me was when they had Daredevil (Score:2)
Jessica Jones, and of course The Punisher. I even liked The Defenders. Other shows like Lost Girl, iZombie, and Dark Matter had me thinking that Netflix knew me, and was eager to cater to my tastes.
Now I feel like I'm in an abusive relationship.
Shows like Longmire no longer get Netflix excited? (Score:2)
That was a solid show, and helped me justify the expense of Netflix. The IT Crowd was a solid import, but after watching it three times, it really hammers home the inferiority of a lot of other content.
well.. (Score:2)
If you're much more expensive as your competitors, don't have HD(audio) with you basic subscription, you're gonna loose a subscribers. As there are more and more services, they have to come down with the price, have the higher price have more devices possible, not more quality. It would be better to have an option based subscription, like Basic is at least HD(audio) and one device, want 4K add another 2 bucks, and 1 or 2 bucks per extra concurrent device.
As a single person who wants to at least enjoy HD I h
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If you want HD that much, that's why they're charging more for it. Personally I'd be willing to pay exactly as much for a 360p stream as a 4K stream.
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Video quality should not be tied to the number of simultaneous streams. For single people, that makes no sense and only increases the price of Netflix when compared to the competition if we want higher quality than 480p, quality which is absurd in 2022. That should be an even lower-priced tier in itself, cheaper than their basic service cost today.
Update the content and remove GeoTagging (Score:1)
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It's the Russians fault.
Read the summary, if not the article. Excluding Russia, they would have added 500,000 but predicted 2.5 million (hey, just off by 2 million!). Cancelling service in Russia cause it to be a loss of 200,000 subscribers (they had 700,00 subscribers in Russia???).
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On the other hand, it's still 700,000 monthly payments they will no longer be receiving.