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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s Brand Takes Another Hit as Netflix and Other Brands Consider Scrapping Deals

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Updated on June 26, 2023

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Just two weeks after Spotify announced its decision to cut ties with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have been warned that another contract worth £40m is on the brink of being ripped up.

According to a source at Netflix, the video streaming giant is also considering withholding a significant sum of money from the couple unless they start pitching better ideas.

While there is no question of a headline-grabbing, public parting of the ways, experts warn that these developments do not bode well for the couple’s fading hope of becoming a $1 billion brand.

The failure to renew Meghan Markle’s podcast archetypes for a second season has been described as a mutual decision between the Sussexes and the streaming behemoth.

PR guru Mark Borkowski told MailOnline that this is very bad news for Meghan and Harry’s brand and a sign that their star is really falling.

Amid rumors that the relaunch of her lifestyle blog, The Tig, is viewed as the best way for her to make big money, especially given the success of Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop and Kourtney Kardashian’s Poosh, archetypes launched with great fanfare last year, featuring stars and celebrity friends, including tennis legend Serena Williams, pop megastar Mariah Carey, and South African comedian Trevor Noah.

The podcast was plagued by mixed reviews from critics, with The Times comparing the listening experience to being locked in the relaxation room of a wellness spa with an unusually self-involved yoga instructor.

Spotify reportedly became impatient about the pace of recordings, with only 12 episodes in two years.

There were also tensions about how far down the charts her podcast and individual episodes dropped.

Spotify was even accused of wrongly using its own official podcast chart to keep Meghan Markle at number one when she was lagging behind Joe Rogan and other stars in terms of daily listeners.

Earlier this year, the head of Spotify admitted he got a little carried away and over-invested in expensive podcasts, as the streaming giant made a loss of £187.2 million.

Brand and culture expert Nick Ede predicts that more brands will dump the couple, amid rumors that Netflix is also unhappy.

“It looks like Meghan’s brand isn’t such a box office winner, and I can see a lot of other businesses following suit,” he said.

Mr. Ede believes that Meghan’s relaunch of her blog, The Tig, is near certain, as her options become more limited.

He also predicts that the couple will have lost many millions from the dead Spotify deal.

“Meghan dined with Gwyneth Paltrow a few weeks ago and will probably have grilled her on how she made Goop worth $250 million,” Mr. Ede said.

“I think that this is optically a really negative position for Meghan and her brand to be in, with this news and the news that Netflix is not happy with the output from the Archwell team.

Either she is set to lose millions from these deals.

It also shows that these huge brands have not as much confidence in Meghan and Harry, and that the halo effect they were riding on post-Megxit is now beginning to fade.

Brands need to make money.