Netflix loses millions of subscribers after boss backs Kamala Harris
Netflix saw cancellations rise after co-founder Reed Hastings said he was supporting Kamala Harris.
Hastings, still chairman of the streaming giant and the face of the company, said he had also donated $7 million to the Democratic candidate’s campaign.
According to research firm Antenna, cancellations – known as churn – in the US almost tripled after Hastings’ approval on July 22.
Netflix, the market leader by some margin – with 280 customers worldwide and 84 million in America – typically has the lowest customer churn in the industry.
In July, US customers canceled their subscriptions by 2.8 percent, the highest monthly figure since February. That meant a loss of more than 2 million subscribers.
The cancellations coincided with Donald Trump’s supporters calling on conservatives to cancel their subscriptions in response to Hastings’ support for Harris.
Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, now chairman of the streaming giant, donated $7 million to Kamala Harris’ campaign. After news of the approval was revealed, Netflix saw a spike in cancellations.
Hastings, a longtime Democratic donor, endorsed Harris on July 22 in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
A day later, Hastings told The Information that he had donated $7 million to a pro-Harris super PAC.
Bloomberg highlighted that July 26 was the worst day for Netflix cancellations this year, just three days after the donation news broke.
This increase is also related to Netflix’s decision to phase out its standard, commercial-free offering.
But experts said the five-day period following Hastings’ approval stood out.
Netflix has tried to distance itself from Hastings’ political activities in the past. It is wary of offending subscribers who may hold opinions that differ from its left-wing views.
But it doesn’t always work. Earlier this summer, he was one of the most vocal public figures calling on President Joe Biden not to run again.
In an email obtained by the New York Times, he stated, “Biden must step aside to allow a powerful Democratic leader to defeat Trump and keep us safe and prosperous.”
Netflix will announce its latest earnings figures (for the third quarter from July to September) in mid-October. Analysts expect this will provide more details on the impact on subscriptions.
Democratic candidate Kamala Harris was endorsed by Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings.
Reed Hastings’ endorsement upset Donald Trump’s supporters. They called on Republicans to cancel their Netflix subscriptions
With its 277 million subscribers, Netflix is by far the largest of all streamers.
The next closest is Amazon Prime Video, but that’s largely because it bundles the service for free with its subscription service.
Until the setback in July, Netflix has mainly added customers in recent years.
A big part of that success is its crackdown on password sharing, which helped it gain 13 million new customers last year.
Meanwhile, earlier this year it emerged that Hastings donated 40 percent of his ownership stake in Netflix – worth $1.1 billion – to a charity popular with tech billionaires for its tax breaks and privacy.
Hastings made the donation to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation after his Netflix shares soared following a strong earnings report.