Consumer re-prioritization is making both brands and customers reimagine the value of subscriptions. This Subscriptions Weekly edition covers everything from new offerings and alliances to how inflation and content drive subscription spending in the U.S.

Netflix: lost subscribers, ad-backed tiers & shared accounts

It’s been a hectic week for the streaming giant. Despite Stranger Things 4 success, Netflix reported a 970,000 subscribers loss during Q2–a better than expected result. The company is projecting 1 million new subscribers for Q3 and hopes to bring 4 million more with its ad-supported tier in February 2023.

Additionally, the brand is pushing to charge for account sharing in Latin America. Subscribers in Argentina, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic will have to pay an extra $2.99 for an additional home in their accounts. 

Inflation drives cancellations, content drives retention 

Even though households are cutting back costs by unsubscribing to video streaming services in the U.S., customers can still be engaged with exclusive, quality, compelling content. Learn more about the reimagined demands in DTC and how brands can give subscribers what they really want. 

Subscriptions are key to Apple's $3T market valuation

While the market still sees Apple as a traditional hardware maker, Erik Woodring from Morgan Stanley believes its recurring revenue model is successful due to its high acquisition and retention rates, spending opportunities, and subscription-based pricing. Read more on AppleInsider. 

Amazon buys One Medical for $3.9 billion

Amazon has announced the purchase of One Medical, the membership-based service offering virtual care in the U.S. Neil Lindsay, senior vice president of Amazon Health Services, states they hope to improve the healthcare experience over the next years. Learn more on CNN Business.

Russia bans digital payments

Although Russians transact nearly $5 billion in crypto yearly, earlier in 2022, the country’s central bank restricted financial institutions from carrying out these operations. In extension to this law, president Vladimir Putin has approved legislation to ban digital payments for goods and services. Read more on PYMTS.

Warner Music embraces SoundCloud’s user-centric model

Warner Music Group has come to an agreement with SoundCloud to adopt its fan-powered royalties system to allocate earnings based on individual user listening. This is contrary to the pro rata model used by Spotify and Apple Music, which pools all subscription money and distributes it up based on total streams across the platform. Read more on The Verge. 

Subscription prices: Which went up, which went down? 

Disney announced a $3 monthly hike to its ESPN+ subscription, while Slack increased monthly and annual pricing for Pro users to $8.75 and $7.25. In contrast, Crunchyroll anime streaming subscription cut its monthly fees in 95 countries.

In the food delivery field, DoorDash will raise subtotal minimums for U.S. DashPass members, who currently need to order at least $12 of food or $35 of groceries to get discounts within its $9.99 monthly free delivery plan. 

From the Recurly blog: