Longtime Netflix Users Are Unsubscribing Because of Prices and Content

The battle for streaming supremacy has been a dull one for years, as Netflix has long controlled both the market and the conversation. Hulu, Amazon, and other services have their merits and dedicated followings, but Netflix has kept a tight grip on the streaming industry with its brand recognition and massive library. However, that could begin changing in the very near future. The launch of Disney+ signaled the first major rival to Netflix in some time, gaining 10 million subscribers in its first day. It also doesn’t help that Netflix is losing subscribers at the same time.

While international markets are still growing for Netflix, the streaming giant has lost some North American users over the last year or so. Kill the Cable Bill conducted a survey of 1000 people who have cancelled their Netflix subscription in recent months, and it turns out many of them were longtime users of the service, stepping away due to the consistent price hikes and lack of compelling content.

63% of those surveyed said that they had been subscribed to Netflix for more than a year before making the decision to cancel. That means that the issue isn’t people trying the service and not liking it, but rather users growing tired of the service over time. That shouldn’t happen, but the raise in prices (the most common subscription is now $13) and slate of originals aren’t getting better in the eyes of quite a few users. Only 7% of the people surveyed left immediately after the one month free trial. It’s also worth noting that 58% of surveyed users claim they are unsure if they’ll come back to Netflix at a later date.

When asked about the reason for their cancellation of Netflix, those surveyed were asked to choose all that applied from a list of various reasons. A staggering 49% claimed it was because of the price increases, while another 42% argued that the “lack of interesting content” drove them away. 40% of people participating in the survey said that using other streaming services helped them make the decision to cancel Netflix.

Fortunately for Netflix, it still has control over the streaming landscape in terms of sheer subscriber numbers. There are more than 60 million Netflix users in the United States alone, so Disney+ still has a lot of growing left to do before it can truly compete.

Do you still have your Netflix subscription? What would cause you to leave the service? Let us know in the comments!