SAN FRANCISCO: Netflix on Thursday reported cooling subscriber growth as fierce competition and the pandemic weigh heavy despite hits like “Squid Game” and “Money Heist.”
The streaming service ended the year with 221.8 million subscribers, just below target, after booming during coronavirus lockdowns that kept people at home and on the platform.
Things are not looking better for the first quarter of 2022, with the Netflix earnings report saying the firm expected to only add some 2.5 million subscribers.
The market punishment was immediate, with shares of the California streaming giant losing some 20% in after-hours trading.
The last first-quarter expectation under 2.5 million subscribers came in 2010, when Netflix had a mere 13.9 million customers.
“While retention…
