Netflix banks on Harry and Meghan to bring the big bucks
Netflix is counting on the final three episodes of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s docu-series to give their viewership an end of the year bump.
The online streaming service lost over 1.2 m subscribers in the first quarter of 2022, and its share prices had declined by over 60 per cent by October. Netflix had made a $100 m deal with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2020, and is now hoping to cash in on the royal tell-all.
The first episode of the docu-series was watched by over 2.4 m people, which was the highest viewership recorded for a Netflix original.
The success of this series follows the critical and commercial success of The Crown. The Crown is a multi-season fictionalisation of Queen Elizabeth II’s life and reign.
While Buckingham Palace has declined to comment on the claims made by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in the docu-series, Britons have been vocal on social media about their fury at Netflix and the couple.
Scottish Twitter user Betty Wise was vocal about her disgust at the docu-series, implying that it was disrespectful to the late Queen.
Simone Ferriani, a Bayes Business School professor also commented on the timing of the dou-series’ release. According to him, for Netflix the “marketing of the couple’s content is working to perfection.”