Netflix set to move into gaming
Netflix fell short of its growth forecast during the previous quarter. The streaming company put the news down to a fall in interest following the lockdown, as well as pandemic-induced delays in production.
The American company increased its overall number of subscribers by 1.54m, 0.21m short of what analysts were forecasting. It is also well below the 10m added during Q2 12 months ago, as viewers across the world were confined to their homes.
In the US and Canada Netflix lost 430,000 subscribers during Q2. It also revised down its forecasts for the remainder of the year.
The news has created a sense of doubt from investors over the streaming company’s outlook as the world economy is reopening more by the day.
The streaming sector has become more saturated over the last year, with Apple and Disney, among others, stepping up their efforts.
While the pandemic caused delays over the past 12 months, Netflix said a body of new content will build through the remainder of the year.
Netflix also confirmed its plan to venture into gaming. “We’re excited as ever about our movies and TV series offering and we expect a long runway of increasing investment and growth across all of our existing content categories, but since we are nearly a decade into our push into original programming, we think the time is right to learn more about how our members value games,” the company said.
Investor’s curiosity into these plans supported the Netflix share price (NASDAQ:NFLX) on Tuesday as it closed 0.23% down.
With 209m subscribers, Netflix is above and beyond its competitors, with its closest rival being Disney Plus, at 104m subscribers.
However, as viewer habits could noticeably change post-lockdown, and competition intensifies, Tuesday’s results mark a defining moment for Netflix.
