Reed Hastings, a Best Friend to Binge Watchers

This was supposed to be a tough year for Netflix. Apple, Comcast, Disney, and HBO all started services to compete with the $212 billion company. The streaming wars, the thinking went, would distract or siphon off Netflix customers. But by the time the coronavirus pandemic hit, Netflix had stockpiled a mountain of binge-worthy content for people stuck at home with no theaters to go to and little new programming from traditional networks. And because part of co-Chief Executive Officer Hastings’s strategy is to release new TV seasons all at once—not to mention that Netflix spends more than $17 billion annually on programming—it overwhelmed its competitors with variety and volume.

At a time when challengers couldn’t produce new entertainment, the streaming service released popular docuseries (Tiger King), reality shows (Love Is Blind), movies (The Old Guard), and foreign-language programs (Dark), making it seem as if current events hadn’t affected the company at all. Although record unemployment has forced people to rethink their spending, they’ve been more inclined to cut the cord than to stop paying for Netflix, which will surpass 200 million customers by yearend.