In its quarterly earnings report, Netflix reassures shareholders that its starting price of $6.99 per month in the US is competitive compared to other streaming services. The company highlights that this is even lower than the average price of a single movie ticket. However, it remains to be seen if this reasoning will be enough to retain subscribers. Netflix has faced criticism for frequently canceling its original shows after just a few seasons, much to the disappointment of many viewers.

In addition to its own reputation, Netflix also confronts the challenge of a fragmented streaming industry. In the early days, Netflix offered a vast catalog of popular third-party content. However, this is no longer the case as numerous streaming services now vie for consumers’ entertainment budgets. With prices increasing across the board, some users have expressed frustration that their monthly streaming expenditure rivals that of their previous cable bills, prompting a number of cord-cutters to return to piracy.