After raising rates, Netflix reports first-ever drop in U.S. subscribers


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Netflix stock fell more than 10 percent after the market closed Wednesday, following the company's announcement that for the first time since launching its digital service eight years ago, it saw a drop in U.S. subscribers.
In the second quarter, Netflix lost 126,000 paid U.S. subscribers, and also only added 2.7 million subscribers worldwide, far below the five million investors expected. With its hit show Stranger Things now streaming new episodes, Netflix expects to add more than seven million subscribers during the current quarter. Right now, there are more than 60 million U.S. subscribers.
The market is getting more and more crowded, with Disney Plus and HBO Max set to enter the streaming world soon. In 2020, Friends, the second-most watched show on Netflix last year, will only be available to U.S. and Canadian customers on HBO Max. The Office is also leaving Netflix next year, as the show's owner, NBCUniversal, agreed to pay $100 million a year for the next five years in order to have streaming rights.
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A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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