Netflix lost nearly a half million subscribers in the U.S. and Canada during the second quarter in a surprising consumer rebuke as the streamer continues to embrace left-wing politics and woke content, including a new slate of programming from Barack and Michelle Obama.
The exodus also reflects a growing public disenchantment with paid streaming services in general, but particularly Netflix, as Americans grow weary of rising prices and over-hyped content, while embracing other forms of entertainment post-lockdown.
The streamer said it lost 430,000 subscribers domestically for the period, the first time it has bled subscribers in two years, when it lost 100,000 subscribers during the second quarter of 2019. Wall Street views subscriptions as the key indicator of Netflix’s financial health because it is the best gauge of the company’s future cash flow.
In its earnings announcement, Netflix blamed the subscriber loss on seasonality and the already large size of its North American customer base. The streamer made no mention of its increasingly left-wing content as well as the openly partisan public positions its executives have taken in recent months.
Co-CEO Reed Hastings reportedly donated $3 million to help California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) fight off the current recall effort — the largest amount at the time to the Stop The Republican Recall fund. Both Hastings and co-CEO Ted Sarandos backed Joe Biden’s bid for the White House. – READ MORE
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