Guiding light

We're drowning in oceans of content but some reliable guides are at hand to help us find what to watch, listen to and read.

- Peter Griffin

So much for Netflix and chill. Netflix appears to have finally found its limits to growth.

The world's largest subscription video streaming platform shed 200,000 subscribers in the first three months of the year, its first decline following a decade of steady growth that has seen it amass over 221 million subscribers worldwide.

Pulling the plug on 700,000 subscribers in Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine helped tip Netflix into the red in more ways than one. The company's share price dropped by 40% following the news, stripping tens of billions of dollars from its market value.

There is more pain to come, with Netflix expecting to lose two million more subscribers this year as it faces tough competition from rival streamers such as Apple TV+ and Disney+, and inflation eats into consumers' spending power all over the globe.

Spotify, the equivalent of Netflix in music streaming, also saw its share price hit an all-time low last month as it revealed it added just two million subscribers in the first three months of the year, giving it a total of 182 million.