Back on April 19th — just 10 days ago, Netflix stock was up to $348. Then their quarterly report was issued. The company admitted to bleeding subscribers.
Today, the stock is down to around $196 after hitting a low this week at $187. Ouch! The stock has gone off a cliff and things are changing fast at the number 1 streamer.
Today the company announced painful layoffs at its Tudum site (tudum, as in the sound the Netflix logo makes, or tu-dum!). Tudum was the website for Netflix users. But it turned out to be expendable. And that won’t be the end of layoffs. More to come.
This happens as CNN Plus shut down yesterday after less than a month in operation. The streaming site had no viewers and lost at least $300 million. Some of the staff will be moved into CNN. But many will just be let go.
When I was part of the original News Digital group responsible for Foxnews.com in 1999, we saw the same thing. News Digital was like a balloon that just kept getting bigger and bigger until it burst. We had gorgeous movie-set like offices in the Bed Bath and Beyond building on Sixth Avenue. More and more staff moved in from different divisions. Emotions were high. And then one day, it was all over. The whole thing had gotten way too big. There was no revenue. Luckily, I was one of a few people who were moved uptown to the main company. But I can remember standing in the News Digital offices after everyone was let go, the lights were turned off, and there were just rows and rows of abandoned computers. It’s very sad.
Netflix will rebound, of course. “Ozark” dropped today. The big new season of “Stranger Things” is coming next month and it’s going to be huge. So, fear not. But this will be a painful period.
