Chaos of COVID-19 & Company Crisis Control: Netflix

Netflix: manna from heaven and hours of entertainment in times of quarantine. What would we do without it? Netflix has done a fabulous job of still cranking out new Netflix Original series and TV shows to keep their customers occupied during the many hours (and days) spent inside the house.

In fact, Netflix is being overused in European countries - so much so that the company is "[reducing] streaming quality in Europe for at least the next month to prevent the internet [from] collapsing under the strain of unprecedented usage due to the coronavirus pandemic." I'm no technological genius by any means, but if the entire internet is close to crashing, I think we may need to back off the usage for a while. While this sounds like a decrease in viewing quality may stop some watchers to stop using Netflix, "A Netflix spokesperson told CNN Business the reduction may mean some users 'see a reduction in perceptible video quality,' while others won't see any change."

Among the new series that Netflix has recently released was the series called, "Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak". Many conspiracy theories have come from this show, and some even think that this show predicted the Coronavirus outbreak. In my opinion, that is completely farfetched, because it would be impossible to predict a worldwide pandemic. Unless you had some insider info from the government or another secret source. Just a thought.

At this point, you can probably collect that Netflix is one of those companies that is thriving with an increased demand for their product. A whopping "26% of American households started using online streaming services like Netflix for the first time in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic"; that is a LOT. 26% of the American population is little over 85,000,000 people. Netflix is growing in leaps and bounds just as a side effect of people being bored while quarantined. Many influencers and bloggers are also featuring lists of shows or movies to binge watch, which again, benefits Netflix.

As for supporting their employees, "Netflix has set up a $100m fund for creatives whose jobs have been affected by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic" as well as "[offering] $15m to not-for-profits that offer emergency relief to out-of-work cast and crew members in countries where they have major productions."

While researching Netflix's PR strategies they've been using during the Coronavirus outbreak, I came across an advertising campaign that was really interesting. The headline for the article I read was "No, Netflix Is Not Spoiling Its Own Shows To Fight Coronavirus", which intrigued me. The "fake" campaign is being put on by two men, Seine Kongruangkit and Matithorn Prachuabmoh Chaimoungkalo, who created the campaign in an effort to keep people at home during this time. In the ad's words, "Some people still think it’s okay to go out and chill, spoiling it for us all, so we took an extreme measure: we spoil their favorite Netflix shows.” Netflix does not endorse these advertisements but are still benefiting from them as the advertisements encourage viewers to go back home and finish their series.

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