Who hasn’t heard about ‘Netflix & Chill’? Maybe you even use the term in your daily conversation. When the pandemic wreaked havoc globally, streaming services had most to gain, financially speaking. Did you ever think that a streaming giant could face issues, especially during the current social atmosphere? No? Well, neither did we.
Netflix’s shares fell below 10% after the company announced that it recently added 4 million subscribers in the first quarter while the company had set its target to 6 million, creating a 2 million deficit. Not only that but Netflix was also keeping its expectations up with 1 million paid net additions for the second quarter.
Pexels | Most people relied on streaming services for entertainment during the pandemic
Let’s Take a Deeper Look…
To provide you with a bit of perspective and background, many governments imposed restrictions on crowds and gatherings when the pandemic hit last year. As a result, global populations went into social isolation. Many people decided to buy the streaming service, and because of social media and its influence, the number of subscribers began to increase greatly to kill boredom and time. This resulted in Netflix earning around 26 million subscribers in the first few months of the year 2020.
The company could not assess the assumptions and risks to such a quick climb up the charts, so they did not consider the situation when the pandemic would resolve, and people will continue their lives as before.
Medium, Marker | Netflix needs to start taking the resumption of socializing into consideration before setting goals
Can Netflix Redeem Itself?
So, before sending out the verdict, it’s safe to say that there is still some time for Netflix to be able to redeem its subscriber count. The company is optimistic as they predict a rise in the number once again in the second half of 2021. The reason for this would be that there are many new projects that Netflix had been working on that were put on hold due to the pandemic. But now, after the projects have been finalized, chances are they’ll give Netflix the big break it is looking for.
Pexels | We all look for a quiet night in sometimes but, pandemic-lifestyle can’t continue when everyday life resumes
Uncertain? Indeed.
The company is holding a modest approach when predicting a new number of potential subscribers for the next quarter. The uncertainty of the pandemic and the roll-out of vaccines has a good amount of impact on sales. For now, the company is looking at 1 million new subscribers.
Whether the number of subscribers goes up or not, one thing is for sure, we are so excited for the upcoming projects from Netflix.
