Thousands of subscribers are canceling Netflix, and there's several key reasons why the streaming giant is going through hard times. Netflix essentially invented its own industry with subscription streaming, offering customers an all they could watch buffet of movies and shows that they could access for one low monthly fee. For a long time, Netflix's main streaming plan was only $7.99 a month, making it an extremely economical form of entertainment. Sadly, that price is now much higher, but that's only the tip of the iceberg.

Earlier this week, Netflix announced that they had lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022, and expect to lose a whopping two million more in the second quarter. This comes after a long period of sustained growth for the company, which for many years sat almost unopposed as the 800-pound gorilla of streaming. It's no wonder that Netflix's stock price dropped sharply, as when investors aren't used to ever getting bad news, any kind of bad news seems worse.

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While Netflix is currently threatening to take actions like cracking down on password sharing between friends and family, a practice they once encouraged, the reality is that the backlash to doing that will likely lead to less subscribers, not more. Netflix may want to blame password sharing, piracy, and other economic factors for its decline, but in actuality, much of the reason Netflix finds itself in a bad spot is due to getting overconfident, and letting that guide it to make questionable decisions.

A Netflix Subscription Is Increasingly Expensive

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Netflix was once thought of as the best value in entertainment, thanks to offering thousands of movies and TV shows to stream for only $7.99 per month. In 2022, those days of value for money are long gone. Since 2014, the price of a standard Netflix subscription has been increased six times, with the most recent hike bringing the price to $15.49, almost double the original $7.99. Netflix is now the most expensive streaming service, with HBO Max in second at $15 per month. While price increases are a reality of business, six in eight years is bordering on ridiculous, and it's gotten to the point where each new increase is steadily angering even the most loyal Netflix subscriber. Especially now, in a time of economic uncertainty, the last thing anyone wanted to see was the price of their Netflix subscription going up again. Netflix really stepped on its own foot in this regard.

Netflix Has A Lot Of Bad Movies & Shows (& Cancels Good Ones)

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Making the constant price increases even more intolerable for consumers is the fact that Netflix's library is an absolute shell of what it once was. A 2019 study suggested that the library of movies on Netflix had shrunk 40% since 2014, and that number is likely much higher in 2022. While some of that is beyond Netflix's control, as studios elect to remove their content, Netflix isn't doing much to combat the issue with its original movies and shows. While there are certainly a a lot of Netflix originals, Netflix seems to have almost no quality control, with Netflix originals boasting just as many awful releases as good ones, if not more. Some of these critically lambasted releases, such as Adam Sandler's Netflix movies, do indeed have their fans, but also turn off many as well. It also really doesn't help that Netflix has become so quick to cancel any original show that fails to become an instant success. Fans of canceled shows like The Order, The OA, The Society, Archive 81, and many more are still feeling that sting. Even GLOW, which was a hit, was abruptly canceled.

Netflix Has Few Franchises (When They Matter More Than Ever)

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Another big area Netflix is lacking in is big franchises, while other streamers are thriving on them. At this point, Netflix's only real massive crossover hit left is Stranger Things, which is winding down. The Witcher is also quite popular, but to a lesser degree, although Netflix did land the Knives Out sequels. Meanwhile, Disney+ is coasting on the backs of Marvel Studios and Star Wars shows, Amazon has The Lord of the Rings and a potential God of War show, HBO Max has DC shows and Game of Thrones spinoffs, and so on and so forth. Netflix just doesn't have much in the way of big-time players in its lineup right now, and with how quickly it's canceling most shows, that probably won't change much anytime soon.

Related: Netflix's Cancellation Rule Is Now The Streaming Service's Biggest Problem

Netflix Now Has A Lot Of Competition In The Streaming Wars

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Of course, there's one reason Netflix is losing subscribers that they can't necessarily do much about, and that's the massive amount of competition they now have in the streaming arena. Netflix showed there was gold in the subscription streaming model, and now nearly every major studio has created or is creating their own competing service. The days of Netflix competing with only Amazon Prime and Hulu are long gone, as Disney+, HBO Max, Peacock, Paramount Plus, and even AppleTV+ now crowd the market. With prices surging and money being tight for many working people, something has to give, and with so many other options, the days of Netflix being indispensable are ending.

Netflix's Size & Scale Makes Growth More Difficult

Netflix subscriber loss just the beginning

Finally, Netflix is likely to continue losing subscribers in the near term due to them seemingly hitting a ceiling when it comes to growth. For the past decade, Netflix kept expanding to more and more countries, and as streaming grew worldwide, saw a steady influx of new subscribers. That inevitably had to end, and at this point, Netflix really doesn't have much more room to grow, even with 28 original movies on the way to Netflix in 2022. Despite the recent losses, Netflix still boasts over 200 million subscribers worldwide, dwarfing every other platform. It's likely just about everyone has tried Netflix and decided whether or not it's for them at this point, so it only makes sense that Netflix is more likely to lose subscribers than gain them. That said, this by no means indicates Netflix will go out of business or lose its spot atop the streaming world quite yet. They could also take steps to try and alleviate the problem, such as lowering prices or acquiring a blockbuster franchise. Still, the near future looks turbulent.

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