Quarterly Netflix paid streaming subscribers in the U.S. and Canada 2013-2022

Netflix reported 74.58 million paid streaming subscribers across the United States and Canada in the first quarter of 2022. This figure marked the highest drop in subscriber numbers in the region to date.

Why is Netflix losing subscribers?

North America is Netflix's top-performing market in terms of subscribers and revenues, followed by Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The company reported losing an estimated 200 thousand users worldwide in early 2022, with the number of Netflix users now standing at approximately 221.6 million. But why are audiences canceling their subscriptions? One reason for the unprecedented drop in account holders is Netflix's monthly fee, which has been increasing rapidly over the past few years. On top of that, viewers have also voiced criticism over Netflix's cancellation of popular shows and its lack of big movie franchises.

What are audiences watching?

Netflix's vast content library offers anything from reality TV to Hollywood blockbusters, with shows and movies delivered in many different languages. As of early 2022, European countries such as Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Lithuania boasted the largest content catalogs on Netflix at around seven thousand titles each. In the U.S., where audiences could choose from approximately 5.8 thousand titles, "Criminal Minds" and "Grey's Anatomy" ranked among the most popular streaming series on Netflix in 2021. That same year, fan favorites "The Crown" and "Stranger Things" were the most expensive Netflix original series, with production costs of over 11 million U.S. dollars per episode.