Netflix Immediately Paid a Price After Chairman Endorsed Kamala Harris
The article discusses the significant backlash Netflix experienced after its co-founder Reed Hastings publicly endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and donated $7 million to a super PAC supporting her. Following this endorsement, Netflix saw a spike in customer cancellations, marking July as one of its worst months for subscriber retention. This decline was attributed to a combination of the endorsement and the company’s recent decision to phase out its basic ad-free service tier.
Many conservative Netflix subscribers responded negatively to Hastings’ endorsement, with some advocating for a boycott using the hashtag #CancelNetflix. The author highlights a pattern where Netflix has faced similar backlash in the past, notably during the controversy surrounding its film “Cuties.” Social media reactions suggest that many consumers are frustrated with the intertwining of political views and business, indicating a preference for companies that focus on entertainment rather than political advocacy. The article concludes by warning other businesses about the risks of alienating their audience through political stances, advocating for a focus on their core entertainment purpose.
At Netflix, the numbers tell the story.
When the streaming giant’s co-founder and company chairman decided to not only endorse Democrat Kamala Harris for president, but also to donate $7 million to a super PAC supporting her, the backlash didn’t take long.
Within days, the company recorded its worst numbers of the year when it comes to customer cancellations.
It’s a rock-solid bet it wasn’t a coincidence.
Writing in a Bloomberg piece published Sunday, Lucas Shaw, Bloomberg’s managing editor for media and entertainment, reported that Netflix saw cancellations rise in July, largely as a result of the company’s move to phase out its basic tier of service — “the cheapest advertising-free version of Netflix.”
But something else happened in July, too: A decision by Reed Hastings, the company’s executive chairman, to publicly back Harris with a social media post, and to announce the huge donation to the technology news website The Information.
President Joe Biden announced July 21 he was dropping his re-election bid (though he apparently still can’t bring himself to admit what really happened).
He endorsed Harris the same day.
Hastings didn’t take long in making his feelings known:
Congrats to Kamala Harris — now it is time to win
— Reed Hastings (@reedhastings) July 23, 2024
“Congrats to Kamala Harris — now it is time to win,” he wrote.
And as Shaw reported at Bloomberg, that didn’t sit well at all with Netflix subscribers who support former President Donald Trump.
“Shortly after Hastings’ endorsement, fans of Donald Trump began urging people to drop the service,” Shaw wrote. “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.”
This isn’t the first time Netflix has outraged conservatives.
In 2020, the film “Cuties,” which depicted young girls performing dance scenes better suited to back-street jiggle joints — or maybe an Olympics opening ceremony — spurred another round of cancellations.
The Netflix cancellations after the Hastings’ Harris endorsement and PAC donation weren’t as high as they were amid the “Cuties” controversy, Shaw reported. But that might be because there just weren’t as many conservative Netflix subscribers this time around because of the “Cuties” controversy.
Here’s a sampling of some social media reaction to the news:
I was done with them after the “Cuties” groomer show’s debut.
— SeekerOfTruth42 (@SeekerOfTruth42) September 30, 2024
Good.
Netflix has gone to trash anyways in last few years.— Evan Dyer (@EvanLeeDyer) September 30, 2024
Go woke, go broke. Adios.
— mercime (@mercime_one) September 30, 2024
More should cancel.https://t.co/zvCMPKgDHt
— Vicki Magadonian #MAGA (@NoWarningShot_) September 30, 2024
But this one might have put it best:
Reed Hastings backing Kamala Harris and seeing Netflix cancellations skyrocket is proof that consumers won’t stand for political overreach. When corporations mix politics with business, they risk alienating huge swaths of their audience. Bad move, Netflix.
— Robert Bird (@BobMacBobFace) September 30, 2024
“Reed Hastings backing Kamala Harris and seeing Netflix cancellations skyrocket is proof that consumers won’t stand for political overreach,” the user wrote. “When corporations mix politics with business, they risk alienating huge swaths of their audience. Bad move, Netflix.”
It should have been clear by now that there’s no percentage in liberal executives virtue signalling with political donations when it comes to the bottom line of a business. (The careers of certain now-former Bud Light executives should be testimony to that.)
At Netflix, the numbers tell the story — and every business in the country should understand the moral:
Entertainment companies exist to entertain — not pontificate, or proselytize, or politicize every waking moment of American life.
When they choose to do so, they lose — they lose subscribers, they lose customers, they lose loyalty and they lose money.
And no business can afford to do that for long.
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