Clear vision: Amid falling subscriptions and a sharp drop in income, what are Netflix’s next moves?

After years of emphasising growth above profit, Netflix has lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of this year. Will a crackdown on viewer account sharing reverse the trend, or must the streaming giant turn to more creative, innovative solutions to get its numbers back up?

Netflix has fundamentally changed the landscape of film and television, in large part because it achieved a mode of distribution that no one else saw coming. Now, its competitors are catching up, and Netflix has been forced to acknowledge the squeeze of competition. Picture: Molly Riley/UPI/Shutterstock

Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix, is tired of freeloaders; specifically, those coasting onto his platform by piggybacking on the accounts of paying subscribers.

The streaming giant recently announced it was rapidly accelerating plans it has had in the works for years to monetise everyone who watches its content, after the company’s most recent results shocked them into action.

“Remember, there are over 100 million households who are already choosing to use Netflix,” Hastings assured investors ...