The news: Viewers aren’t watching as much Netflix and are opening the app less often, adding to the streaming platform’s engagement challenges, according to individuals cited by Bloomberg.

While total time spent on Netflix increased slightly in H1 2026, Bloomberg attributes the increase to subscriber growth; individual viewers are watching less. Data from Apptopia, meanwhile, found that the share of Netflix subscribers who hadn’t opened the app in Q3 increased 16.6% YoY.

The findings come less than a week after Netflix said that its 2026 ad sales would fall about $300 million short of previous expectations in its Q3 earnings release. Netflix shares are down about 29% year-to-date.

Zooming out: Netflix reports that its subscriber numbers are up and churn is flat at 2%, but other indicators point to weakening engagement.

Time spent with Netflix will grow by only 2 minutes this year, per our forecast, and Bloomberg previously reported that viewership for original Netflix series declines sharply after the first season.