The number of Netflix subscribers has fallen for the first time in more than a decade as the company hinted at a crackdown on password sharing.
The streaming giant’s customer base dropped by 200,000 in the first three months of the year, the company revealed on Tuesday.
It said that part of the loss was because of a decision to withdraw from Russia, with a loss of 700,000 subscribers.
Another 600,000 people stopped its service in the US and Canada after a price increase, with prices also increasing in the UK.
It predicts to lose another two million subscribers from April to June.
Competition and large numbers of households sharing accounts is being attributed to the subscriber loss.
“Those are over 100 million households already are choosing to view Netflix," said Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings. “We’ve just got to get paid at some degree for them.”
In a bid to encourage more people to pay for their accounts, the company indicated it would expand a trial programme, running in three countries, for subscribers to share their service with another household at a discounted price.
Company officials are also contemplating offering a lower-priced subscription with ads, which is offered by rivals such as Disney+ and Hulu.
“Those who have followed Netflix know that I’ve been against the complexity of advertising, and a big fan of the simplicity of subscription," said Mr Hastings.
“But, as much as I’m a fan of that, I’m a bigger fan of consumer choice.”
While the firm’s revenue in the first quarter of the year was up 9.8 per cent compared with the same period last year to more than $7.8bn (£6bn), this is a slowdown compared to earlier quarters.
The firm still has more than 220 million subscribers globally, but is having to contend with some subscribers choosing to cancel as cost-of-living pressures hit household finances.
In Britain, more than 1.5 million streaming subscriptions were cancelled in the first three months of 2022, according to market research firm Kantar.
