Netflix Cancellations Skyrocketed After Founder Donated, Endorsed Harris
I’m sure that Netflix will be just fine, but since streaming services have hit a rough patch, they might not want to tick off any consumer.
Netflix cancellations went through the roof after co-founder and chairman Reed Hastings endorsed and donated to VP Kamala Harris.
The cancellations nearly tripled.
I’m sure that Netflix will be just fine, but since streaming services have hit a rough patch, they might not want to tick off any consumer.
Customers in the US canceled Netflix at a higher rate in July — 2.8% — than any month since February. That is largely due to the company’s decision to phase out its basic tier. Basic was the cheapest advertising-free version of Netflix. But the five-day period after Hastings’ endorsement was unusual, even for July.
Hastings, a longtime Democratic donor, endorsed Harris in a post on the social media platform X on July 22. A day later, Hastings told The Information that he donated $7 million to a pro-Harris super PAC. Shortly after Hastings’ endorsement, fans of Donald Trump began urging people to drop the service. Some posted photos showing they had closed their accounts alongside the hashtag #CancelNetflix. Three days later after the donation became public, July 26, was the single worst day for Netflix cancellations this year.
Hastings has donated to Democrats in the past but hasn’t always been outspoken:
He wasn’t as outspoken about elections until more recently. But earlier this year, he was a vocal and public member of the chorus of celebrities and executives calling for Joe Biden to step out of the presidential race.
Netflix has always tried to keep Hastings’ donations and politics separate from its business. Eager to appeal to viewers of all persuasions all over the world, the company is sensitive to any perception that it’s politically biased. (Disney faces a similar conundrum.)
Like most companies in entertainment and Silicon Valley, Netflix’s employees lean to the left politically. Co-CEO Ted Sarandos is married to Nicole Avant, a former ambassador in the Obama administration. Sarandos and Avant are active in politics and were advocates for Rick Caruso in the Los Angeles mayoral race in 2022.
In June, stats showed that “YouTube made up nearly 10% of all viewership on connected and traditional TVs in the U.S. in May.”
That 10% is the “largest share of TV for a streaming platform ever reported by Nielsen’s monthly ‘The Gauge’ report.”
“We’re not talking about your mobile phone, your laptop, that I’m sure you see your kids using all the time, but on the biggest screen in the house, the TV,” LightShed media analyst Rich Greenfield told CNBC. “Every [media] executive has to be paying attention.”
YouTube is still on top as of August 2024.
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Comments
I would cancel, but I’ve successfully boycotted them for 27 years so far.
Good new, now make it GREAT!
they want to be the pravada of the regime
It is important to note that while YouTube is #1, I believe that is counting ALL views of YouTube, and not just the YouTube paid subscription, while Netflix is 100% paid subscriptions, so I think Netflix actually makes more from subscribers than Youtube (but obviously Youtube has that sweet sweet ad cash)
They hired the jug-eared overlord and his husband. Wasn’t that enough?
I have no idea why anyone pays for Netflix. The channel blows. Once you see everything you find interesting when you first sign up you notice that they don’t update shows very frequently. Anything of interest on netflix can be downloaded, anyway, so what’s the point of overpaying for a nasty subscription service that abuses its customers and supports commies who want to turn America into the new USSR??
I wish I could cancel netflix but I dropped my subscription years ago and haven’t given it a second thought since.
Something is wrong with that rating. I am not a paid member of YouTube but I watch mostly how-to-do videos and some sports spots. They might have a higher viewer number but not paid membership. I tried their free two-month plan and when it ended that was it for me. They have a terrible selection of movies and make you pay for old average ones. I have not been a Netflix member since obama joined it.
“Eager to appeal to viewers of all persuasions all over the world, the company is sensitive to any perception that it’s politically biased. (Disney faces a similar conundrum.)”
Netflix politically biased? The service that offered “Cuties” and “CoComelon?”n The service that contracted the Obamas to produce their own content? Why, whoever would think that?
And even mentioning Disney here shows you the log in Bloomberg’s eye.
I’m surprised that Pluto has that many viewers. I thought I was the only one watching it. It’s a decent streamer. I really don’t mind the ads in the movies, at all, and Pluto is pretty good about them. I also watch the Bellator channel and Glory but I’ve seen pretty much all of the episodes, at this point. I also watch some of the news channels for Beck and Bannon and their gangs – even though they aren’t live broadcasts.
You would have thought these people would have gotten a clue when Netflix signed a deal with Saint Obama and his other half.
What bothers me is that even though these woke companies are losing customers, they still continue to be relevant. Look at Disney, Coke, Budweiser, etc. They all continue to have a strong presence, yet they should be out of business from the losses they suffered. What is really going on?
Its best content was licensed only through its mail order CDs, which it discontinued. Now it serves only the Kardashian crowd.
Let’s face it, the entertainment industry is rife with progressive leftists. Has been since the 1930’s. I have Netflix and there are series and movies that I like. I also have Amazon Prime and Paramount. We travel in our Motor Coach and we like options. It’s his money. I don’t like his donation profile, but it’s his choice. FKH
Go click through a job application.
Netflix needs to know if you are LGBTQ+ / CisGender to be a program manager for cybersecurity.
Honestly that shouldn’t even be allowed to be asked.
Like are you pregnant or married.
I stopped using Netflix quite a while ago and never looked back. Their content was not great and the added much from non-English speaking countries. I was not aware of them having Hastings as their founder but I will not join them again. Overall media has gone down whether it is cable, MSM. or streaming.