Netflix is telling investors not to worry, even though you’re watching less and less

Netflix is making monetization a top priority amid reports of falling viewing time. As part of its third-quarter earnings report on Tuesday, Netflix lists improvements to monetization as one of its main focuses going forward, alongside efforts to boost entertainment value and leverage new technology.

The streaming giant doesn’t say exactly how it plans to improve its monetization, but the company notes that these goals will help Netflix “create member value that lets us occasionally raise prices, and increase advertiser demand.” Netflix also highlighted plans to push further into original titles, live events, and third-party programming as it faces an “intense competition and an explosion of content competing for consumer attention.”

An analysis from financial firm Jefferies estimated that Netflix’s monthly viewing time per member dropped to 49 hours in the first half of this year, down from 66 hours in the first half of 2023, according to a report from Reuters. At the same time, Netflix made up 7.8 percent of US viewing time in the US in July, a one-percentage-point dip from the same time last year, The New York Times reports.

During an earnings call, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos pointed to success abroad when answering a question about the company’s content strategy. “We see titles across Latin America, EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa), APAC (Asia-Pacific), driving engagement, subscriber growth, revenue, and profit,” Sarandos said. “Now, the US is also working. It’s just not growing as fast as it could or as fast as we’d like.”

Last week, Netflix laid off around 1,000 employees, while replacing key executives, including chief content officer Bela Bajaria and film head Dan Lin. Former Disney executive Peter Rice is taking over as chief content officer on October 26th. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos complained internally that US-based users have been spending less time on the service, and that it’s “short on new hit shows.”

In its letter to investors, Netflix mentions its upcoming lineup of NFL games, its Grand Theft Auto VI preview, and its partnership with French TV station TF1 as evidence of opening its platform to a wider breadth of content. The company reported earning $12.9 billion over the past few months, marking a 12 percent year-over-year increase. It also plans to bring its ad-supported tier — which raked in $1.5 billion last year — to 15 new countries in 2027.

In the coming months, Netflix may be facing tougher competition from HBO Max and Paramount Plus following the Skydance megamerger, as co-CEO David Ellison has said that he plans to combine the two apps into a single service. The streamer struck deals with several creators as it competes with YouTube, which has reportedly offered channels “millions of dollars” not to post their videos on Netflix.

Netflix has also weighed making even bigger changes to its app, including integrating other third-party streamers, such as Peacock and Fox One, as well as adding always-on channels, according to reports from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Update, October 20th: Added a quote from Sarandos.