A decline in Netflix viewing hours and engagement amongst subscribers has reportedly been going on for some time now. More here. A new report suggests that Netflix’s dominance might just be under some degree of threat, as subscribers spend less time watching the streaming service. It looks, too, like this has been going on for ... It seems that we’re watching Netflix less than we did…
A decline in Netflix viewing hours and engagement amongst subscribers has reportedly been going on for some time now. More here.
A new report suggests that Netflix’s dominance might just be under some degree of threat, as subscribers spend less time watching the streaming service. It looks, too, like this has been going on for a few years.
It’s internal data that Bloomberg is reporting on here, suggesting that Netflix’s viewing times started to decline roughly around its clampdown on subscribers sharing passwords began. That makes sense of course, and goes back to 2022. At that point, a blip was expected. However, the blip sounds like it’s become something of a trend,
What’s hurting Netflix is its output hasn’t really cut through in the way that it once did. It feels like a while since it’s come up with a true breakout show or film, in the manner that it used to fairly deliver. When was the last series it came up with that had real impact? It’s hard to think.
Against this backdrop, Netflix’s share price has taken a heavy tumble in 2026, not least in part due to its failure to land its high-profile attempted takeover of Warner Bros. It went from preferred bidder to out of the game there, and since then, there’ve been job losses at the streamer, and changes in leadership personnel too.
Furthermore, revenue growth is slowing, almost inevitably, and there’s a feeling that the iteration of Netflix that got the company this far is at an end. It’s in a strong market position, but when you’ve got hundreds of millions of subscribers, there comes a point where growing further becomes pretty much impossible.
Bloomberg’s reporting, unconfirmed by Netflix, is talking about reduced engagement from the existing subscriber base for the streamer. That people are opening Netflix less than they did, and watching slightly less of it. In more encouraging news for it, we’re not yet reaching in any great numbers for the cancellation screen. But that’s inevitably the fear for Netflix going forward.
Has it peaked? We’ll find out in due course.
