Netflix, Trying to Please Everyone, Misses the Buzzy Shows

(Bloomberg) -- In its bid to provide something for everyone, Netflix Inc. lost the one thing that set it apart from every other streaming service — a movie or series that captured the cultural zeitgeist.

Netflix has forged partnerships with YouTube stars Ms. Rachel and Mark Rober, wrote big checks to woo popular podcasters like Jay Shetty and got in the game with the NFL, Major League Baseball and the FIFA Women's World Cup, in a bid to diversity its entertainment options and entice viewers.

But it has lacked a breakthrough hit like the 2025 limited series Adolescence, which garnered critical acclaim on its way to becoming one of Netflix's most popular shows of all time. Netflix's overall share of TV viewing fell to 7.8% in July, down a from 8.8% in the same period last year, according to Nielsen data. Competitors including Amazon.com Inc.'s Prime Video, Comcast Corp.'s Peacock and Skydance Corp.'s Paramount+ gained share.

Last week, the company announced it was laying off 6% of its staff and replacing Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria with Peter Rice, a Walt Disney Co. and 21st Century Fox veteran. On Monday, the company said film chief Dan Lin was also leaving.

Netflix delivered double-digit revenue growth in its most recent quarter. Still, a slowdown in sales and viewers, as well as a failed attempt to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.'s studios and streaming business, has been weighing on Netflix shares, which are down about 26% this year. On Tuesday, Netflix is expected to show the weakest percentage increase in revenue in three years when it reports results.

"The growth is still there, but it's slower," said Hal Vogel, a longtime media analyst and author of Entertainment Industry Economics. "It's not the same Netflix. I'm sure if they had a hit series the stock would pop up for a while."

The service has lost top talent, including filmmakers David Fincher, Noah Baumbach and Shawn Levy, as well as the Duffer brothers, creators of the hit series Stranger Things, fueling concern among the company's senior-most leaders that it is no longer viewed as a haven for Hollywood's best storytellers. At the Bloomberg Screentime conference in Los Angeles last month, Netflix co-Chief Executive Officer Ted Sarandos rejected the idea that those departures were indicative of a problem. "They're individual cases," he said.