Streaming Slams Into a Wall: Netflix Woes, CNN+ Shutdown Illustrate New Economic Realities
Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorAfter years of companies spending like drunken sailors on streaming video, some are now suffering hangovers.Netflix, in the first quarter of 2022, lost customers for the first time in more than a decade. It could shed 2 million more in Q2. The streaming giant is scrambling to find new sources of revenue growth, with execs hoping to monetize password-sharing freeloaders and — previously unthinkable at the Big Red N — planning to introduce advertising-supported plans.CNN+, hailed as a bridge to the news cabler’s future, is DOA: It’s getting axed 32 days after launch under new management at Warner Bros.