Netflix experienced an increase in cancellations after its co-founder and chairman, Reed Hastings, endorsed Kamala Harris for president and donated $7 million to her campaign, Bloomberg reported.
Research from Antenna indicates that Netflix’s cancellation rate, or churn, nearly tripled in the U.S. following Hastings’ endorsement. Despite Netflix traditionally having the lowest churn rate in the streaming industry, the cancellations surged after his public support for Harris.
“Congrats to Kamala Harris — now it is time to win,” Hastings wrote in a post on X on July 22 after Kamala Harris officially became the Democratic nominee.
Congrats to Kamala Harris — now it is time to win
— Reed Hastings (@reedhastings) July 23, 2024
The spike in cancellations peaked on July 26, marking the worst day for Netflix cancellations in 2024. This followed Hastings’ endorsement on July 22, posted on the social platform X, and his subsequent $7 million donation to a pro-Harris super PAC. In response, some Trump supporters urged others to cancel their Netflix subscriptions, using the hashtag #CancelNetflix and sharing images of their account closures.
July 2024 also saw a significant 2.8% cancellation rate—the highest since February—largely driven by Netflix’s decision to phase out its ad-free basic plan. However, the cancellations in the days following Hastings’ donation were notably higher even compared to this increase.
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