A Royal Streaming Fight
Once the most popular couple on Netflix with a rich multimillion-dollar deal, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are now seeing a big drop in viewers. The Sussexes signed a contract with Netflix in 2020, which led to high hopes and a lot of inspection. The deal will end in 2025. However, new data shows that their popularity on the streaming service has dropped sharply.
Less and fewer people watching
Harry & Meghan’s Limited Series Volumes I and II only got 1.9 million views in the second half of 2023, adding up to a total of 12.6 million views. This sharp drop in watchers shows a worrying trend for the Sussexes, who used to captivate people around the world with their honest accounts of royal life and their journey.
What’s Going On With Beckham
The sudden success of David and Victoria Beckham, who used to be friends but are now seen as enemies, has made things even worse for the Sussexes. The Beckhams’ documentary, “Beckham,” shot to the top of the world viewing charts, getting an amazing 43.9 million views from July to December. The documentary got 208.5 million hours of viewing in its first two months alone, which shows how famous it is.
The Mail says that these numbers show 3.5 times as many people watched Harry and Meghan’s show. This gives the Beckhams a clear edge in the very competitive streaming market.
Looking at the Fall
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams talks about why the Sussexes aren’t as famous on Netflix. Fitzwilliams talked to The Mirror about what their Netflix deal means, since it will be renewed next year. He talked about the problems that might come up, especially since Netflix stopped making “The Crown,” a show that made people much more interested in royal material.
Fitzwilliams said, “Now that Netflix isn’t making ‘The Crown,’ they might not be as interested in the Sussexes.” They might not be able to pay their bills if they lose this deal because Archewell, their business and charity organization, doesn’t have many donors. They’ve made a lot of money by writing about the royal family, but not much else. The Royal Family should hope that this unstable and highly driven pair sticks with Netflix.
Projects for the future and uncertainty
Harry and Meghan are still committed to their Netflix deal, even though things are going badly right now. They have two projects in the works. Reports say that Prince Harry is working on a TV show about his love of polo, and Meghan is making a show about cooking and gardens. The goal of these projects is to add new types of material and maybe get people interested again.
But the fact that they don’t know if Netflix will renew their contract adds to the stress. If their deal doesn’t get extended, it could cost them a lot of money, since Archewell has trouble getting donors and making money from things other than high-profile films.
