• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, Yesterday

Have Netflix's engagement issues finally caught up to its investors?

Wells Fargo just downgraded Netflix stock over lingering engagement-viewing issues the premium streamer has had for some time.

This includes the number of hours watched per subscriber -- down 4% from a year ago. Also there has been a 20% decline in viewing among Netflix’s top 100 originals.

What are the remedies? Video podcasts and short-form videos, for starters. The latter -- a growing popular platform of videos one or two minutes in length -- pulls in viewers who are not always interested in watching a full-length 30- or 60-minute TV episode or a full-length movie.

These short videos -- called "Verts” -- riff off standard phone-based looking "vertical" video content -- are now a growing staple among many streamers, including competitor YouTub'

Overall, Netflix’s percentage of the total U.S. TV viewing marketplace has remained at an 8% share since 2023 -- all while YouTube's share has steadily grown to a 13% share.

This is not to say that Netflix isn’t committed to spending more on content.

A CNBC report says Netflix has been projected to spend $20 billion in 2026 up $2 billion from the $18 billion a year ago.

This comes as Netflix has expanded its efforts with "event" type programming -- especially with the NFL. This season it will air five NFL games, up from two a year ago.

Netflix just aired a special international game in Australia (with the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams) to start the season -- earning 18.5 million Nielsen-measured viewers.

In addition, it will add a new Thanksgiving Eve game this season and a special season-ending Week 18 game -- and will continue with two Christmas Day games that it has aired over the last two years.

This adds to its limited sports multi-day events -- the World Baseball Classic and MLB’s Home Run Derby -- and other events: Live music concerts (BTS in Seoul, Korea), and climber Alex Honnold traversing up a building in Taipei.

Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria believe these one-time event programs -- along with major marketing promotion attached -- are key to breaking through ever rising competition. In an interview with CNBC, she called it “sort of unmissable” moments.

The goal then would be extend and evolve other Netflix content into must-see, not-to-be-missed moments.

Beyond podcasts, short videos, and events, what other needs might viewers with longer attention spans have?