Netflix Cancelations Peaked Following Exec’s Kamala Harris Endorsement

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As a movie critic with over three decades of experience under my belt, I’ve seen countless streaming giants rise and fall, but Netflix has always managed to stand tall against the test of time. The recent trending #CancelNetflix, sparked by Reed Hastings’ political contribution, may have caused a momentary tremor, but it’s certainly no earthquake that will shake this titan from its throne.

This year, it was unveiled that Reed Hastings, a previous co-CEO and co-founder of Netflix, contributed $7 million of his personal funds to aid Kamala Harris in her presidential campaign. This revelation ignited swift criticism on social media, with the hashtag #CancelNetflix gaining traction for over 24 hours. Now, two months down the line, we’re getting our first glimpse into how Hastings’ political donation may have impacted Netflix’s financial standing.

Based on a recent report from IndieWire, data from Antenna indicates that Netflix experienced an approximately 2.7 times increase in daily cancellations from July 25th to the 29th compared to the previous fortnight. The largest number of users canceled their subscriptions on the 26th, marking the highest cancellation rate in the last year for Netflix. Although things returned to normal by the end of July, it’s evident that some impact was felt since the cancellation rate averaged at 1.8% in June and 2.0% in August, with July finishing slightly higher at 2.8%.

Despite Hastings stepping down as co-CEO of Netflix in January, allowing Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters to take over, his supportive post for Kamala Harris on X seemed to upset conservative subscribers. Even though he didn’t make any highly controversial statements when Harris assumed the role from Joe Biden to complete the presidential race, it appears that his congratulatory words were sufficient to spark a wave of cancellations at Netflix among Trump supporters.

No, This Isn’t the End of Netflix

Established in 1997 by Hastings and Randolph, Netflix initially offered both the sale and rental of DVDs, with “Beetlejuice” being their first movie dispatch. After a year, it became apparent that the majority of their income stemmed from rentals, so they shifted their focus accordingly. A decade later, their billionth DVD (the 2006 film “Babel”) was dispatched, and they ventured into streaming, debuting with a mere 1,000 video on demand titles. Over time, the company has experienced remarkable growth, and now creates its own content, encompassing movies, TV shows, and games. The last DVD rental, “True Grit,” was dispatched in 2023.

Despite some people assuming that an increase in Netflix membership cancellations signals the company’s demise, this assumption is quite misleading. In reality, Netflix boasts over 277 million active subscribers globally and consistently generates nearly $10 billion in revenue per quarter, with approximately $2 billion of that being profit. At present, their stock price stands at a robust $709.27 per share, having reached an all-time high closing price of $722.26 on September 24 of this year, well after Reed Hastings’ political contribution became public knowledge.

Netflix is anticipated to reveal its third-quarter earnings on October 17, covering the period from July to September. The impact of the #CancelNetflix trend on their results will undoubtedly be intriguing, but it’s unlikely that we’ll see any major surprises from this streaming giant, whose rumors of demise have been greatly overstated.

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2024-10-01 17:02