Streaming giant Netflix suffered a surge in cancellations in the days after its co-founder and chairman, Reed Hastings, endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president.
According to a report from Bloomberg, the rate of cancellations nearly tripled in the United States after Hastings announced his endorsement in the 2024 presidential race (via Bloomberg):
Customers in the US canceled Netflix at a higher rate in July — 2.8% — than any month since February. That is largely due to the company’s decision to phase out its basic tier. Basic was the cheapest advertising-free version of Netflix. But the five-day period after Hastings’ endorsement was unusual, even for July.
Hastings made his endorsement clear on X (formerly Twitter), where he congratulated Harris and said, “now it is time to win.”
Congrats to Kamala Harris -- now it is time to win
— Reed Hastings (@reedhastings) July 23, 2024
Hastings, a longtime Democratic donor, told The Information that he donated $7 million to a pro-Kamala Harris super PAC.
“Three days later after the donation became public, July 26, was the single worst day for Netflix cancellations this year,” Bloomberg noted.
Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk wrote on X, “Donations by Netflix employees could not be more lopsided in favor of the Democratic Party.”
Donations by Netflix employees could not be more lopsided in favor of the Democratic Party (~100%) https://t.co/JGZPcB8i7o pic.twitter.com/zz0WNbghpi
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 30, 2024
Earlier this year, Hastings became one of the biggest Democratic donors to call for President Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race, The New York Times reported.
“Biden needs to step aside to allow a vigorous Democratic leader to beat Trump and keep us safe and prosperous,” he said in an email with The Times in July.