Netflix loses subscribers for first time in more than 10 years

The number of Netflix subscribers has fallen for the first time in more than a decade.

About 200,000 people cancelled the service in the first three months of the year, the company said on Tuesday.

Another two million are likely to cut the streaming company by June, it forecast.

Shares in the company plunged more than 20% in after-hours trade in New York after the declines, which follow a surge in sign-ups during the pandemic.

"Our revenue growth has slowed considerably as our results and forecast below show," the company said in a letter to shareholders as it released its quarterly results.

"Our relatively high household penetration - when including the large number of households sharing accounts - combined with competition, is creating revenue growth headwinds.

"The big Covid boost to streaming obscured the picture until recently."

The last time the company, which boasts more than 220 million subscribers globally, lost members in a quarter was October 2011.