Russians lose Netflix in latest pullout over Ukraine – Kenya Satellite News Network

By Judith Gicobi

In the latest withdrawal of a Western firm over the war in Ukraine, Russian consumers have lost access to streaming behemoth Netflix.

From Friday, Netflix’s website and apps were unavailable, and a Netflix spokesperson confirmed that subscribers were no longer able to access the service.

A Netflix spokesperson told AFP on Monday that “This is the fulfilment of the withdrawal from the Russian market” announced in March.

After Russia launched hundreds of troops into pro-Western Ukraine, the US-based platform announced its withdrawal from Russia in early March. The corporation waited until the current billing cycle ended before disconnecting customers.

Netflix is the most popular streaming service in the world, with 221.8 million users as of the end of 2021, however it was only a minor participant in Russia.

In an April letter to shareholders, the business said that its withdrawal from Russia had cost it 700,000 paid members, blaming the move for the company’s first global loss in subscribers in a decade.

Since the start of Moscow’s assault in Ukraine on February 24, Netflix is one of the slew of global corporations that declared the suspension of operations and outright withdrawal from Russia.