Netflix Is My Jam

Sense 8, Jessica Jones, Orange is the New Black, Stranger Things and an endless stream of B-list movies. For many years now I have been a satisfied Netflix subscriber. For only 8 bucks a month and internet access I am instantly connected to a variety of entertainment. There's nothing more relaxing at the end of a hard day then cozying up to my favorite show with a good IPA. I recently started watching 'Santa Clarita Diet,' mainly because Santa Clarita is my home town and it has a great cast of actors. Not only is Netflix an affordable way to watch media, but there are a lot of options as well. I can watch it on my TV, my phone, my computer, or my tablet. It's easy to see why Netflix is so popular, many even subscribe to the streaming service for one particular show. It certainly seems worth the money. 

Before taking this media literacy class I gave not one thought to who had control of the content and distribution of what I watched. Netflix is a publicly traded company, and according to Nasdaq.com there are about 800 shareholders. It's largest institutional shareholder, Capital Research Global Investors own over 50 million shares. Capital Research holds significant shares in many other companies, such as Amgen, Verizon, and Amazon.  Many other institutional shareholders also had large shares in J.P Morgan, Facebook, Proctor and Gamble, AT&T, etc. I imagine the top executives of those companies are doing pretty well for themselves. 

The CEO and founder of Netflix, Reed Hastings, is one of the top individual shareholders, owning over 22 million shares. He recently received some attention in the media for speaking out against Trump and his administration. In a recent post on his Facebook page Reed writes:
 
"Trump's actions are hurting Netflix employees around the world, and are so un-American it pains us all. Worse, these actions will make America less safe (through hatred and loss of allies) rather than more safe. A very sad week, and more to come with the lives of over 600,000 Dreamers here in a America under imminent threat. It is time to link arms together to protect American values of freedom and opportunity" (https://www.facebook.com/reed1960). 

 

Many CEO's have been speaking out against our current president, particularly over the immigration ban. The CEO of Starbucks, my employer, has even pledged to hire refugees in it's retail stores. After doing some research it made me proud to know that the CEO of a service I use has a social conscious.

 Sources:
 https://www.yahoo.com/news/why-netflix-isnt-scared-president-192150462.html
 http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/nflx/ownership-summary
 http://www.investopedia.com/articles/insights/060716/top-3-netflix-shareholders-nflx.asp
 https://www.facebook.com/reed1960

Image Sources:
https://pmctvline2.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/oitnb_season2_littleboo.jpg?w=600&h=884
 http://scoopempire.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/reed-hastings-e1402336895493.jpg