Netflix customers canceling service increasingly includes long-term subscribers

Netflix lost 200,000 subscribers last quarter and potentially two million this current period, according to a note to shareholders from last month. New research has shown that long-standing customers are cancelling the streaming service more frequently in recent years.

The data provided by the research firm Antenna to The Information shows that people who had been subscribers for more than three years accounted for just 5% of total cancelations at the start of 2022, while it hit 13% in the first quarter of 2022.

Newbie subscribers, meantime, accounted for only 60% of cancellations in the quarter, down from 64% in the fourth quarter. Also in the first quarter, overall cancellations rose to 3. 6 million people, compared with around 2. 5 million in each of the preceding five quarters. Antenna says it draws its data from a panel of 5 million Americans who anonymously contribute their streaming subscriptions.

While Netflix is losing ground, the streaming market as a whole is gaining more subscribers, and Antenna’s data suggest a connection between the price increase and Netflix’s subscriber losses.

“Consumers vote with their wallets on a monthly basis, and now there are just more viable candidates on the ballot,” said Brendan Brady, media and entertainment lead at Antenna. He also said that Netflix had to rely on originals more than it did on Netflix, as many companies such as NBCUniversal or Disney have taken their shows off Netflix.

The data shows that for the first four months of 2022, Paramount+, Peacock, and Disney+ were the most popular options among new subscribers. One of the reasons is the fact that Paramount+ and Peacock are two of the most affordable services.

Although Antenna’s survey didn’t highlight Apple TV+, Apple’s streaming service is also one of the most affordable options. It has limited content, but it provides high-quality content. Last week, 9to5Mac reported that the company is promoting some of its shows in the Los Angeles The Grove store, as you can read more about here.