According to an assessment by the statistics portal Self Financial, Apple TV+ came out as the winner in this respect. The company has thus overtaken other larger competitors such as HBO Max, which took the second position, and Disney+, which came in third place.
The quality is declining
The survey from which the results come is based on viewer ratings on the popular IMDb portal. While there are "only" about 115 titles on Apple TV's line-up compared to the competition, it's the philosophy about content quality that dominates. Overall, however, the ratings showed that all streaming services have deteriorated in their quality compared to 2021. Paradoxically, it was the winner Apple TV that worsened the most in viewer ratings when comparing this year to last year.
Subscribers are least satisfied with Netflix
A survey by film portal Variety revealed that subscribers are least satisfied with Netflix's offer, which came dead last among other streaming companies in this regard. The reason for this ranking of Netflix in the survey is likely to be, in the long run, the subscription price, which is the highest among the competition. This is because, in general, for the price of a premium subscription, a user can pay for up to two different platforms, which also means more extensive content.
The number of users is decreasing
In April, Netflix published its quarterly results, which showed that for the first time ever, its total number of users dropped by 200 thousand, with the decline estimated to continue to 2 million. The company's shares on the stock market at the time reacted to the news with a 25 percent drop in value, from which it has not recovered to this day. While in the same period a year ago the value was around USD 530 per share, it is now at USD 189 per share. Overall, the company's stock has written down 66 percent since the beginning of 2022, according to data from Investing.com.
Reasons for the slump
The outflow was logical - the service saw the biggest increase in users during the pandemic, when people spent time mainly at home. After the restrictions were eased, the number of subscribers naturally started to decline. The company lost another 700 thousand subscribers as a result of the suspension of its services in Russia after its troops invaded Ukraine. Netflix customers were also not pleased by the announcement that it plans to deploy an anti-password-sharing system to prevent people from being able to watch the service for free and share it with their family members.
Cheaper subscription with advertising
Since at the beginning of the year, Netflix raised subscriptions in the home US market, in Great Britain and Ireland, it does not look like it plans to motivate potential subscribers to activate its services by reducing the price of the packages offered so far. On the other hand, it is rushing to introduce a cheaper version of the subscription to the public, which could lure new viewers. It will, however, include advertisements.
Netflix seems to be past its best growth period. The competition is not slowing down, and unless there is a really radical breakthrough and significantly positive information, it does not look good for the company's stock value in the near future. [1]
Olívia Lacenová, Chief Analyst of Wonderinterest Trading Ltd.
* Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
[1] Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and current expectations, which may be inaccurate, or on the current economic environment, which may change. Such statements are not guarantees of future performance. They involve risks and other uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements.