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Netflix has come under backlash from supporters of Donald Trump after co-founder Reed Hastings made a $7 million donation to the Republican Accountability PAC, which is supporting Kamala Harris's presidential campaign run.
"Congrats to Kamala Harris -- now it is time to win," Hastings wrote in a post on social media platform X.
According to Reuters, the former Netflix CEO's donation is his largest political contribution to a single candidate.
The Netflix boycott movement from Donald Trump’s fanbase has also generated a plethora of online reactions. While a faction has been supporting Hasting's donation to the pro-Harris PAC, others have been criticizing the move and canceling their subscriptions to Netflix. In this regard, a netizen wrote,
Trending
"me wondering why cancel netflix is trending then seeing the reason why"
Supporters of Kamala Harris reacted to the hefty donation and extended their support to Netflix in the wake of the calls for boycotts of the streaming app.
"Yeah I think I’ll be supporting Netflix!," wrote a netizen.
"Me looking for a movie to watch on Netflix," another individual wrote.
Trump supporters claimed to have cancelled their Netflix subscription, as they stated,
"Don't forget to cancel Netflix if you have not already done so," a supporter of Trump wrote.
"For real, cancel Netflix this is the last time for me I will never pay for them again. There are to many free apps that have the same s*it to watch. The co founder donated over 7m to kamala campaign fook them!," another netizen wrote.
Netflix witnessed a strong subscriber growth recently
Despite calls to boycott Netflix, the service has been in good shape of late. While the company struggled with growth in 2022 as the COVID pandemic subsided, it has recently recovered significantly. During the April-June period, the streaming giant gained 8 million subscribers thanks to its password-sharing crackdown and the success of original shows like Baby Reindeer and Bridgerton.
Although the streaming platform did cancel thousands of subscriptions as part of its efforts to restructure its pricing model, this hasn’t led to a significant decline in Netflix subscribers. The number of subscriptions it has canceled is more in the range of thousands, primarily due to changes in its pricing model.
There have also been questions about Netflix’s stock dropping, and while the share price has shown some volatility, the share price in July 2024 is higher than it was in May 2024.
The company is future-proofing by diversifying revenue streams
In recent years, the company has focused heavily on diversifying revenue streams. Changing with the times is nothing new for the platform, which began as a DVD rental service.
As part of its diversification, the service launched its own gaming division, which allowed subscribers to play certain mobile games at no extra cost on their platform. The company even experimented with interactive media with its own IP, such as the choose-your-own-adventure episodes of Carmen Sandiego and Black Mirror: Bandersnatch.
The company's growth-oriented approach is reflected in the way it'll be changing its financial reporting, with it now reporting growth by area instead of just subscriber counts from 2025 onwards.
Netflix is in strong shape despite calls for its boycott, and thanks to its password-sharing crackdown and high-quality original IP, it has grown in terms of revenue and subscriber numbers.
