Netflix was forced to acknowledge a troubling trend for its streaming platform.
Instead of gaining millions of viewers as it had earlier predicted, the company actually shed about 200,000 subscribers during the first quarter of 2022.
Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk was among those who blamed the company’s progressive ideology for the development.
The woke mind virus is making Netflix unwatchable
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 20, 2022
A string of controversial Netflix programs have caused many Americans to turn away from the platform in recent years.
As The Western Journal explained:
But the company has been widely criticized for various programs in recent years.
In 2020, its show “Cuties” was accused of sexualizing preteen girls, leading many to sever ties with the service.
Last year, Netflix revealed “Q-Force,” a cartoon about LGBT spies. “We’re the first queer agents in the field ever,” a character said in the trailer.
“Dear White People” also turned away viewers who perceived it as racist against white people.
And this week, Netflix subscribers will be treated to “He’s Expecting,” whose synopsis reads, “When a successful ad executive who’s got it all figured out becomes pregnant, he’s forced to confront social inequities he’d never considered before.”
Musk wasn’t the only prominent social media user who found the Netflix news unsurprising.
#Netflix is down 26% after hours and 63% below last year's high, after losing subscribers for the first quarter ever, and projecting an even larger subscriber loss this quarter. Why is this a surprise? Customers have more choices and less discretionary income to split among them.
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) April 19, 2022
With Netflix shares down 25% down this morning. They are quickly learning, go woke, get broke.
— George Papadopoulos (@GeorgePapa19) April 20, 2022
Twitter hashtags such as #cancelnetflix and #boycottnetflix have also gained traction recently, signaling that the worst is yet to come.
The company’s stock value dropped by a staggering 35% on Wednesday and executives are now bracing for a bigger hit later this year.
According to CNN:
Netflix said Tuesday that it lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022. Now, 200,000 out of 221 million global subscriptions may seem like little more than a rounding error, but consider that the service was expected to add 2.5 million new users in the first three months of the year — a low bar that had already spooked investors in January.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Netflix said it expects to lose another 2 million in the current quarter.
The company blames many factors for its subscriber exodus, including competition and widespread password sharing. In its letter to investors Tuesday, Netflix also pointed fingers at “macro factors” that are affecting many companies right now, such as “sluggish economic growth, increasing inflation, geopolitical events such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and some continued disruption from Covid.”
Pulling out of Russia alone cost the company 700,000 subscribers, Netflix said. But even without that, the company still would’ve missed its own expectations by nearly 2 million.
Netflix went from being a darling of the leftist entertainment industry to a company that seems unable to compete against a growing number of competitors.
In a TED Talk interview, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings discussed his vision for the future of streaming content and entertainment in general.
It’s safe to say that his outlook has changed in light of the latest news.
Do you believe Netflix’s “woke” content helped seal its fate?
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!