Not all Netflix shows will be streamable on the ad-supported tier

When Netflix’s cheaper ad-supported tier launches next year, subscribers may find themselves unable to access some of the service’s titles available on its regular plan. As Deadline notes, Netflix co-CEO and Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos has admitted during the company’s most recent earnings call that the upcoming subscription option will not include all of its licensed content at launch. It will be missing shows and movies from both US and international studios and distributors, unless the company can successfully (and quickly) convince them to change the deal they originally agreed to. 

Netflix is in talks with studios to amend their deals and be able to make their shows available for streaming alongside ads. Based on a previous Wall Street Journal report, Netflix is renegotiating its deals with Warner Bros. (the studio behind You), Universal (the producer of Russian Doll) and Sony Pictures Television (producer of Cobra Kai). The service will reportedly have to renegotiate the terms for some of the older shows it carries, as well, including Breaking Bad. 

Sarandos said during the earnings call:

“Today, the vast majority of what people watch on Netflix, we can include in the ad-supported. There’s some things that don’t and we’re in conversations with the studios on, but if we launched the product today, members in the ad-tier would have a great experience. We will clear some additional content but certainly not all of it but don’t think it’s a material holdback for the business.”

In the same call, Netflix also admitted that it lost nearly 1 million subscribers in the second quarter of 2022. It still turned a $1.44 billion net profit and expects to add a net 1 million subscribers in the next quarter, but it’s hoping that some of the measures it’s taking will help it grow its userbase yet again. The ad-supporter tier it’s launching with Microsoft early next year could help Netflix grow in markets where there’s strong ad spending. 

Netflix lost nearly 1 million subscribers last quarter

Netflix warned it might lose more subscribers in the second quarter of this year than it did in the first, and that prediction has come true — though it wasn’t as bad as feared. The streaming service said it lost nearly 1 million subscribers (970,000 to be exact) in Q2. That’s far more than the 200,000-member decline from Q1, but not as bleak as the 2 million Netflix was prepared to part with.

The company attributed the slightly rosier outcome to “better-than-expected” subscriber growth, particularly in areas like Asia-Pacific. The company still turned a $1.44 billion net profit despite the shrinking customer base and unfavorable foreign exchange values for the US dollar. Unfriendly exchange rates are a particularly difficult problem when nearly 60 percent of revenue comes from outside the country, Netflix said.

The media giant is expecting a turnaround for the third quarter, if a slow one. It’s now predicting that it will add a net 1 million subscribers. While that’s a far cry from the 4.4 million Netflix added a year earlier, it’s a decided improvement over the past six months. The strong start for Stranger Things 4 could help — the nostalgic show is now Netflix’s most watched season of English TV to date with over 1.3 billion hours of viewing.

Netflix’s recovery plan will sound familiar. The company is still pinning its hopes on a lower-priced ad-supported tier due in early 2023, and expects to launch it in a “handful of markets” where there’s already strong ad spending. The service also plans to fight account sharing, and is experimenting with ideas that include charging for additional homes. The finished sharing system could also roll out in 2023.

アングル：ＪＧＢショートの海外勢に試練、日銀の緩和姿勢強くコスト膨張

［シンガポール／ニューヨーク　１５日　ロイター］ – 日銀が超金融緩和を解除せざるを得なくなる──。こうした予想に賭けている投資家は抱えるリスクがより大きくなり、ポジション運営のコストも割高化しつつある。日本国債市場を舞台にしたこれら投資家と日銀の対決が、一段と日銀優位に傾いているからだ。 今や主要国…

Crypto lending giant Celsius files for bankruptcy

Celsius has filed for bankruptcy protection a month after it paused all customer withdrawals and transfers, according to The Wall Street Journal. The crypto lending giant left almost two million users unable to access their funds back in June due to what it described as “extreme market conditions.” Back then, the company said that freezing withdrawals would help stabilize the liquidity of its assets to, in turn, help it meet withdrawal obligations. 

Celsius was one of the companies caught in the crypto crash, and it saw its token’s value fall from $7 a year ago to $3 by early April this year. Based on the most current information from Coinbase, its token is now worth around 56 cents. As The Journal notes, Celsius offered much better yields than traditional banks to its customers — over 18.6 percent for deposits — and granted large loans backed by little collateral. That left the company with very little wiggle room to move when it felt the effects of the crypto downturn.

The crypto lender’s board of directors explained that pausing withdrawals was difficult but necessary. They said when they filed for bankruptcy:

“Without a pause, the acceleration of withdrawals would have allowed certain customers — those who were first to act — to be paid in full while leaving others behind to wait for Celsius to harvest value from illiquid or longer-term assets before they receive a recovery.”

Since Celsius isn’t seeking court approval for withdrawals, they will likely remain inaccessible as the company restructures under the chapter 11 process. While filing for bankruptcy protects Celsius from some enforcement actions by regulators, though, it will not prevent authorities from investigating the company. Texas State Securities Board’s director of enforcement, Joseph Rotunda, said the agency will continue its probe into the crypto lender. The states of Alabama, Kentucky, New Jersey and Washington are also looking into Celsius after it cut off people’s access to their money. 

Netflix partners with Microsoft for upcoming ad-supported subscription tier

Netflix has found a partner for its upcoming ad-supported tier. On Wednesday, the company announced it plans to work with Microsoft on the effort. In a blog post published by Microsoft, the tech giant said it would provide Netflix with technological and sales expertise. 

As recently as last month, The Wall Street Journal suggested Google and Comcast were among the leading candidates to help Netflix build out an ad-supported tier. On Wednesday, Netflix said it selected Microsoft for the tech giant’s “proven ability” to support its customers. “Microsoft offered the flexibility to innovate over time on both the technology and sales side, as well as strong privacy protections for our members,” said Netflix Chief Operating Officer Greg Peters. Not mentioned is the fact that Microsoft doesn’t operate a competing streaming service. 

Netflix co-CEO Reed Hasting first revealed the company was exploring cheaper plans this past April. The admission came after Netflix announced that it had lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022. At the time, Hastings said the company planned to finalize the details of its plans “over the next year or two.” Netflix is scheduled to announce its second-quarter earnings on Tuesday. According to CNBC, the company recently warned Wall Street it may have lost as many as two million subscribers over the past three months. 

1 euro = 1 dollar witnesses history! For the first time in 20 years: the euro may continue to depreciate

According to news from the Financial Associated Press at 17:00 today, the euro continued to weaken against the dollar, hitting parity, and is now at […]

The post 1 euro = 1 dollar witnesses history! For the first time in 20 years: the euro may continue to depreciate appeared first on Gamingsym.

Peloton gives up on building its own products after just three years

Peloton will no longer build its own connected fitness products, as it’s moving entirely to third-party manufacturing. It said in a statement that it’s “exiting all owned-manufacturing operations” to simplify its supply chain and cut costs. “We believe that this along with other initiatives will enable us to continue reducing the cash burden on the business and increase our flexibility,” Peloton CEO Barry McCarthy said. “Partnering with market-leading third party suppliers, Peloton will be able to focus on what we do best — using technology and content to help our 7 million members become the best versions of themselves.”

The company is expanding its long-existing partnership with Taiwanese manufacturer Rexon, which will be the primary builder of Bike and Tread devices. Peloton says it will suspend operations at Tonic Fitness for the rest of the year. It bought that company in 2019 to bring some manufacturing in house.

Things haven’t exactly been going swimmingly over at Peloton. In January, then-CEO John Foley said the company was “resetting our production levels for sustainable growth” following reports it was putting all production on hold. It was suggested that Peloton had thousands of products sitting in warehouses and on cargo ships amid decreased demand. The following month, Peloton brought in McCarthy as CEO and laid off around 2,800 corporate employees, equivalent to 20 percent of the total workforce.

After the pandemic-driven boom, when many people were buying Peloton gear to help them work out at home, business took a significant hit. Peloton posted a net loss of $757.1 million for the first three months of 2022 on revenue of $964 million, compared with revenue of $1.262 billion and a loss of $8.6 million a year earlier. It attributed the diminishing returns to a significant increase in operating expenses (which represented 95.4 percent of total revenue for the quarter) and having to manage its stockpile of products, which it believed it would sell eventually.

In April, Peloton cut the prices of some products to lower the barrier to entry while announcing plans to increase subscription fees in the US and Canada for the first time. The company now has a rental program for the original Peloton Bike. It costs $89 per month and an All-Access Membership is included. There’s a $150 delivery fee, though you can cancel at any time and there’s free pick-up. Customers have the option to buy the device outright after 12 months. Meanwhile, in May, Peloton teased its first rowing machine.

Former Theranos COO Sunny Balwani found guilty of all charges

Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, Theranos’ former chief operating officer, has been found guilty of all charges in his criminal trial. Balwani, whose trial began in March, was charged with ten counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fra…