If Netflix is stumbling, will Wall Street renew or cancel?

Hit after hit - from Stranger Things to Bridgerton cemented Netflix's position as the leading streaming service.

- Dominic Rushe

Despite investor worries, South Korea's Squid Game shows that Netflix retains global appeal

Subscriber numbers at the pioneering digital disrupter rocketed during lockdowns. And then, in January, the boom appeared to be over.

Netflix announced it expected to add only 2.5 million new subscribers globally in the first three months of the year, well down on the 4 million in the first quarter of 2021. The news has helped wipe almost $45bn from its value as investors worried that the glory days were over.

This week Netflix was due to release its latest quarterly results. And some analysts were predicting beforehand that competition from Apple, Amazon, Disney and traditional media players may have put a stop toits stellar growth.

The narrative was further reinforced last month when Coda beat Jane Campion’s Power of the Dog for the year's best picture Oscar. The heartwarming story of a child of deaf adults was produced by Apple; Campion's critically lauded neo-western was produced by Netflix. It was the first time that a movie released by a streaming service had won the top Oscar.

Having redefined the media landscape, Netflix was on the back foot, and some think it is time for it to change its game.