Netflix saw cancellations spike after co-founder Reed Hastings said he was backing Kamala Harris.
Hastings, still serving as the streaming giant’s chairman and the face of the company, said he had donated $7 million to the Democratic candidate’s campaign as well.
The rate of cancellations – known as churn – nearly tripled in the US after Hastings’ endorsement on July 22, according to research firm Antenna.
Netflix, the market leader by some margin – with 280 customers globally and 84 million in America – typically enjoys the lowest churn rate in the industry.
In July, US customers canceled their subscriptions at a rate of 2.8 percent, the highest monthly figure since February. That meant a loss of more than 2 million subscribers.
The cancellations coincided with Donald Trump supporters calling for conservatives to ax their subscriptions in response to Hastings backing Harris.
Hastings, a longtime Democratic donor, endorsed Harris in a post on X, previously known as Twitter, on July 22.
A day later, Hastings told The Information that he had donated $7 million to a pro-Harris super PAC.
Bloomberg highlighted that July 26 marked the worst single day for Netflix cancellations this year, just three days after the donation news broke.
This increase is also linked to Netflix’s decision to phase out its basic, advertising-free tier.
But experts said the five-day period following Hastings’ endorsement stood out.
In the past, Netflix has tried to distance itself from Hastings’ political activities. It is wary of offending subscribers who might have views that differ from his left-leaning views.
But it doesn’t always work. Earlier in the summer, he was one of the more vocal public figures calling for President Joe Biden to not stand again.
In an email obtained by the New York Times, he stated: ‘Biden needs to step aside to allow a vigorous Democratic leader to beat Trump and keep us safe and prosperous.’
Netflix will release its latest earnings – for the third quarter from July to September – in mid-October. Analysts expect this to provide more detail on the impact on subscriptions.
