Netflix is still the streaming king, but lost US subscribers

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As subscriber numbers dip in the U.S., Netflix is working on a plan to offer video games on phones in hopes of keeping people in the streamer’s ecosystem. Photo by XanderSt/Shutterstock

In its most recent earnings report, Netflix shared that it gained 1.5 million subscribers around the world in the last quarter. However, that is a modest gain for the streaming giant, and it lost 400,000 subscribers in the U.S. and Canada.  

A recent report from Parrot Analytics shows that global demand for Netflix, in comparison to all the other streamers, dropped below 50% for the first time. 

Netflix says that because of the pandemic, the company has been slow to release new original content at the same rate it was before.  

Because Netflix now has 209 million subscribers around the world, the streamer knows it won’t be able to add new subscribers forever, so there will be a huge focus on keeping current subscribers in the Netflix ecosystem. To that end, the company says it plans to offer mobile video games, as well as other short, phone-friendly content. 

Meanwhile, HBO Max also reported new subscriber numbers. The WarnerMedia streamer gained 2.8 million new subscribers in the last quarter. This is strong growth for a service that’s only been around since May 2020. 

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