Meghan and Harry Under Fresh Pressure as Netflix Cuts Continue

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are under renewed pressure as Netflix announced it cut 150 staff members due to a subscriber exodus.

The streaming giant has seen memberships drop for the first time in ten years and expects millions to quit the platform in the current quarter, The Guardian reported.

The blow to the company comes just weeks after Pearl, Meghan's first Netflix project, was axed alongside two others also in production. Harry's documentary Heart of Invictus is currently still due to go ahead as part of their multi-million dollar, multi-year deal. A Netflix source recently told Newsweek the series is one of a number of projects with the couple's Archewell Productions brand.

However, no additional shows have yet been announced and with a new round of cuts at the streaming service, fresh on the back of previous ones, the couple will be under pressure to ensure their output is commercially viable.

A Netflix spokesperson told The Guardian: "As we explained on earnings, our slowing revenue growth means we are also having to slow our cost growth as a company. So sadly, we are letting around 150 employees go today, mostly U.S.-based. These changes are primarily driven by business needs rather than individual performance."

The newspaper reported that Netflix is aiming to focus on a less is more strategy, with fewer shows that are of higher quality.

With one project already on the scrap heap, Harry and Meghan will likely be eager to see any further projects make it to the screen in order that their Netflix deal be seen as a success.

However, Spencer Neumann, Netflix's chief financial officer, suggested spending will be reined in for the next two years, the New York Times reported, suggesting that for those who work with the company the pain may not be over any time soon.

It also comes after a long wait for Meghan and Harry's Spotify podcast to bear fruit, with their first output, Archetypes, set for release this summer. Both multi-year deals were struck in 2020 months after they quit royal life but fans are yet to see what these two post-royal careers will look like in reality.

Harry and Meghan recorded a brief trailer for Archewell Audio which aired on Spotify in December 2020 with publicity material suggesting the full show would follow in 2021.

However, no podcast appeared and the couple has suggested they may have taken exception to Joe Rogan's comments on his own Spotify podcast about the coronavirus vaccine.

A March statement from their spokesperson, obtained by Newsweek, read: "Last April, our co-founders began expressing concerns to our partners at Spotify about the all too real consequences of COVID-19 misinformation on its platform.

"We have continued to express our concerns to Spotify to ensure changes to its platform are made to help address this public health crisis. We look to Spotify to meet this moment and are committed to continuing our work together as it does."

Things do seem to be back on track as far as Meghan is concerned, with the launch of Archetypes not far away. However, Harry is yet to announce any work with the Archewell audio brand.