Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor There was a time when streamers — led by Netflix, burning a hole in its balance sheet with annual negative cash flow in the billions — were banking on double-digit subscriber growth.
And they were spending on content like there was no tomorrow. Well, tomorrow came. In the past 18 months, Wall Street has become laser-focused on the profitability of streaming services, not just their subscriber growth potential.
The trigger: Netflix’s first-quarter 2022 earnings report, which for the first time in a decade showed a sequential subscriber loss.
Suddenly, bam! Investors wanted to see a consistent monetary return on streaming. The ripple effects were felt across the sector, as Disney, Warner Bros.
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