Netflix's price-hike exodus: By the numbers

Netflix stock dipped sharply on Thursday, after the video rental and streaming powerhouse announced that more customers than expected were jumping ship in the wake of a summertime hike in subscription fees. (A combo plan allowing customers to receive one DVD at a time via mail and have access to unlimited streaming of 20,000 movies and TV shows, for instance, jumped from $9.99 a month to $15.98.) How bad is the resulting exodus going to be? Here, a look at Netflix's plight, by the numbers:

1 million

Reduction in the number of subscribers Netflix has forecasted it will have by late September (the end of the third quarter). Before the price hike, Netflix expected to have 25 million paying customers; now it says it will have 24 million.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

590,000

Number of existing customers who have or are expected to cancel their subscriptions by quarter's end. Many existing customers are also switching to cheaper plans — for example, getting two DVDs at a time instead of three.

410,000

Number of customers Netflix had been hoping to sign up as new customers, but no longer expects to capture

55,000

Number of subscribers who left from April 2007 through June 2007 — the last quarter in which Netflix lost customers

60

Percentage increase in monthly fees paid by some subscribers when Netflix hiked its prices

9.8 million

Number of subscribers who have the streaming-only plan ($7.99 a month)

2.2 million

Number of subscribers who have a DVD-only plan ($7.99 a month for one disc at a time; $11.99 a month for two discs)

12 million

Number of subscribers who have a combo DVD-and-streaming plan (ranging from $15.98 to $29.98 a month)

12 million

Number of customers Netflix added as it doubled in size over the last year and a half

16

One-day drop, in percent, in Netflix's stock price on Thursday, when the company announced the unexpectedly heavy loss of customers

Reduction in revenue Netflix expects in the third quarter, as the price increase offsets the loss of customers

Sources: Ars Technica, The Atlantic, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo, Wall St. Journal