Harry and Meghan to lose $100m Netflix deal as contract ends in big financial blow

West Australian

5 days ago

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's $100 million deal with Netflix is coming to an end, with the streaming platform deciding not to renew their contract when it expires in September.
The Sussexes and Netflix have agreed not to make an official announcement but sources have told
The Sun
executives have opted to quietly end the partnership.
'The deal is done; no more shows will be made. Netflix feel they've got all they can from the couple. Netflix were clever in that they got a hell of a lot of viewers for the first documentary series, and knew, realistically, it would prove the zenith of content from the Montecito pair,' they said.
'They're not unhappy with how things turned out — they got those initial hits, and produced one of the most talked-about shows of all time. The content got weaker from there on but, frankly, for £20million a year, anything was better than nothing.'
'There's no animosity from either side. Things have just run their course. Netflix execs are well aware Meghan's priority now is her own brand, and they won't play second fiddle to that. Publicly, there will not be a statement and of course, if things change dramatically, they'd be open to a one-off project down the line.'
'But for Harry, especially, this will be a blow. It's a huge loss of revenue.'
Reports suggest that Meghan's lifestyle series As Ever failed to break into Netflix's top 300 titles, and Prince Harry's Polo documentary drew only modest audiences.
Despite initial success with their first documentary, subsequent content struggled to connect with viewers.
The couple is said to still be on good terms with Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos and Paramount+ is reportedly interested in working with them if a suitable project arises.
Netflix has not commented on the matter.