Netflix axes Tudum content marketing staff as part of marketing restructure

Netflix is said to be laying off staff from its in-house editorial content arm, Tudum, after five months of its launch in December 2021. However, according to reports from Bloomberg, the layoffs are a broader restructuring of the company’s marketing department.    

Meanwhile, TechCrunch reported that Netflix will not be shutting down Tudum, in spite of the changes and a Netflix spokesperson told the publication that the website remains an “important priority for the company”. A quick check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE showed that several of Tudum’s staff have taken to Twitter to report that they were laid off, with several responses spanning out in the replies section indicating that Netflix had lost a diverse group of journalists. At least four writers have tweeted that they were laid off, including an editorial manager.  

One tweet even mentioned how Netflix was "aggressively courting journalists, especially persons of colour, only to pull the rug out from them a few months later".  

https://twitter.com/byalexzaragoza/status/1519766780557803522

Tudum launched on December 2021, and was created for fans, covering exclusive content that would allow fans to dive deeper into Netflix films, series, and stars, through exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes videos, bonus features, and more, said a tweet by Netflix on the publication’s launch.

https://twitter.com/netflix/status/1468988824588013569

Netflix has recently been attracting headlines following the company’s announcement that it would be mulling ad support for its streaming service, after reporting its first major subscriber loss in over a decade. The company saw subscriptions drop by 200,000. WSJ additionally reported that the company’s stock price fell by 35.1%, the same day it made the announcement of its subscriber loss. In spite of its subscriber loss, the company reported that it saw growth in one region during Q1 2022 which is Asia. As of Q2 2022, Netflix has 33.72 million paid subscribers across APAC.

While Netflix is yet to tap into the full potential of its Asian market, it also experiences competition from other OTT players in the region. Aside from Disney+, other OTT platforms such as iQiyi and Viu have also gotten an early start by offering consumers the choice of watching shows with or without ads. What also makes Asia interesting is its receptiveness to ad supported platforms, said a recent study by The Trade Desk titled "The Future of TV 2022".

Related articles:
Opinion: Why Netflix's push into ad subscription alone won't solve its issues
Netflix mulls ad-supported plans: Why embracing ads is inevitable for OTT players
Say yes to the ad: Netflix and Disney+ open up to ad support