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A24 TECHNOLOGY
Friday 18 OctOber 2019
Netflix heads into showdown with slowing subscriber growth

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE winning TV shows and mov-
AP Technology Writer ies that it has amass since
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — expanding into original
Netflix's subscriber growth programming six years ago
is bogging down even to help it retain its competi-
before the leading video tive edge and attract more
streaming service confronts subscribers.
high-powered threats from It has taken advantage
Apple and Walt Disney Co. of its head start in video
The latest sign of the chal- streaming to track the
lenges the company is fac- viewing interests 158 mil-
ing emerged Wednesday lion subscribers around the
with the release of its third- world, giving it valuable
quarter results. The num- insights into the kind of pro-
bers provided further evi- gramming that is most likely
dence that Netflix's salad to appeal to wide swaths
days may be over, particu- of its audience.
larly in the U.S., where most That knowledge, in theory,
households that want its will help Netflix and choose
12-year-old streaming ser- which TV shows and mov-
vice already have it. ies to back in the future
Netflix added 6.8 million This Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019, photo shows the Netflix app on an iPhone in New York. Netflix reports as it bids for programming
subscribers worldwide from financial results Wednesday, Oct. 16. against the likes of Apple,
July through September, Associated Press Disney and existing rivals
below the 7 million custom- such as Amazon and AT&T's
ers forecast by the Los Ga- fourth quarter represents a worldwide subscribers dur- existing subscribers will de- HBO.
tos, California, company. completely new ballgame ing the final three months cide to cancel its service Even if Netflix keeps pick-
Just 520,000 of those sub- for Netflix." of the year, down from and defect to cheaper al- ing winners, some budget-
scribers were picked up in Uncertainty about Netflix's 8.8 million during the same ternatives that Apple and conscious subscribers may
the U.S., below the 800,000 future growth is the main period last year in an ac- Disney will launch within the be tempted to abandon
that management antici- reason the company's knowledgment of the fierc- next month. its service and be content
pated. The shortfall came stock had dropped by er competition. Apple is charging only $5 with the entertainment op-
after Netflix lost 123,000 about 30% below its peak "The launch of these new per month for its service, set tions being dangling by Ap-
subscribers in the U.S. dur- price of $423.21 reached 16 services will be noisy," Net- for a Nov. 1 debut, while ple and Disney.
ing the April-June period, months ago. Netflix's shares flix advised in its third-quar- Disney is selling a service Netflix CEO Reed Hastings
marking its first contraction surged 10% in extended ter letter to shareholders. featuring its vast library acknowledged Wednes-
in eight years. trading Wednesday, ap- "There may be some mod- of treasured films and TV day that a U.S. price in-
The latest miss on U.S. sub- parently because some in- est headwind to our near- shows for just $7 per month crease imposed earlier this
scriber growth "spells trou- vestors had been bracing term growth, and we have beginning Nov. 12. Netflix's year is causing some cur-
ble for the company ahead for an even bigger letdown tried to factor that into our most popular plan in the rent subscribers to cancel
of heightened competi- in the third quarter. guidance." U.S. costs $13 per month. the service and perhaps
tion," said eMarketer ana- Netflix said it expects to The big question now is Netflix is counting on the causing some prospective
lyst Eric Haggstrom. "The add another 7.6 million whether some of Netflix's unique lineup of award- customers to shy away.q

Ahead of 2020, FB ensnared in heated political climate

By The Associated Press counts and political ads on Biden said that he’d be
Mark Zuckerberg defend- its platform. Those charges open to breaking up Face-
ed meetings he’s report- are surfacing again ahead book. Sen. Kamala Harris
edly had with conservative of the 2020 election, with of California has said she’s
leaders after #DeleteFace- Democratic candidates would consider new con-
book began trending on Joe Biden and Sen. Eliza- trols on the tech giant.
social media. beth Warren demanding Facebook faces the risk of
Politico reported this week that Facebook remove more accusations of po-
that the Facebook CEO Trump campaign ads that litical bias by blocking or
held private meetings with, make false claims. suspending accounts, but
among others, Fox News’ After Facebook refused also of creating a toxic on-
Tucker Carlson and con- to remove the ad say- line environment by doing
servative radio host Hugh ing that it’s not a political nothing to remove bogus
Hewitt. gatekeeper, Warren paid political ads and groups.
Conservatives have long In this May 1, 2018, file photo, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for a fake political ad that Research has revealed
delivers the keynote speech at F8, Facebook's developer con-
accused Facebook of sup- ference, in San Jose, Calif. claimed Zuckerberg and that millions of people
pressing conservative politi- Associated Press Facebook have endorsed get at least some political
cal view and the company President Donald Trump. news on social platforms.
has tried to dispel that be- “Meeting new people gest you do!” The ad states in the next A Pew Research Center
lief. and hearing from a wide Facebook has fought al- sentence that it’s not true. survey found that a major-
Zuckerberg says he meets range of viewpoints is part legations since the lead- Pressure on the social me- ity of American adults be-
with many people “across of learning,” Zuckerberg up to the 2016 presidential dia platform is escalating lieve the news they see on
the spectrum on lots of dif- wrote in a Facebook post. election that it’s not doing as the 2020 general elec- such platforms are largely
ferent issues.” “If you haven’t tried it, I sug- enough to stop bogus ac- tion approaches. inaccurate.q