{"id":61219,"date":"2025-08-12T00:20:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T00:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/61219\/"},"modified":"2025-08-12T00:20:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T00:20:10","slug":"meghan-markle-and-prince-harrys-new-netflix-deal-is-a-downgrade-and-more-like-a-well-call-you-than-heres-the-chequebook-experts-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/61219\/","title":{"rendered":"Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s new Netflix deal ‘IS a downgrade’ and more like a ‘we’ll call you’ than ‘here’s the chequebook’, experts say"},"content":{"rendered":"

Meghan Markle<\/a> and Prince Harry<\/a>‘s new Netflix deal is a ‘downgrade’ and\u00a0more of a ‘we’ll call you’ than ‘here’s the chequebook’, experts have claimed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The couple signed a new ‘multi-year, first look deal for film and television projects’ with the streaming giant – understood to be worth less for the pair than their previous contract.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The ‘first-look’ arrangement means Netflix can say yes or no to new film or television projects before anyone else – allowing them to pick and choose what they invest in.\u00a0<\/p>\n

PR expert Mark Borkowski described the new deal as a ‘downgrade’, claiming it falls a long way from the jackpot figure of Harry and Meghan’s original contract in 2020.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He told the Daily Mail: ‘I think Netflix<\/a>\u00a0has done a very neat job of pivoting away from two very expensive people who didn’t deliver, and they’ve taken that deal off the table, and they’ve given them a modest one.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘It’s not like they’re gradually uncoupling \u2013 it’s a downgrade. Netflix are not going to expose themselves to those budgets again. It’s Netflix saying, “Let’s have a look at your content, but we’ll pick and choose, mate”.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

He believes the pair will be paid for each production selected by Netflix rather than receiving an overall fee, such as the reported $100million of their first deal.<\/p>\n

‘I would be surprised if it’s not pay-as-you-go and it’s well, well below that first mark,’ he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Prince <\/p>\n

Prince Harry and Meghan at the ESPY Awards at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood in July 2024<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The Duchess of Sussex in her Netflix series With Love, Meghan which came out in March<\/p>\n

The couple’s new output will include a second season of the Duchess’s ‘With Love, Meghan’ lifestyle show later this month, as well as a Christmas<\/a>\u00a0special in December.<\/p>\n

The Sussexes are also working on ‘Masaka Kids, A Rhythm Within’ – a documentary about orphaned children in Uganda, where the ‘shadows of the HIV\/Aids crisis linger’.<\/p>\n

There is also ‘active development’ on other projects with Netflix which ‘span a variety of content genres’, including an adaptation of romantic novel Meet Me At The Lake.<\/p>\n

But Mr\u00a0Borkowski said the couple will not be granted the same budget as they were under their previous contract with the streaming service.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘They have shot the golden goose of 2020 – more of a “we’ll call you” than “here’s the chequebook”,’ he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘It’s a first-look deal, which means Netflix gets first dibs but no obligation to bankroll every semi-royal whim.<\/p>\n

‘I reckon Netflix is trimming fat industry-wide, so this is less carte blanche, more curated cameo.<\/p>\n

‘They’re still in business together – Meghan’s. As ever brand and seasonal specials keep them in the Netflix shop window but make no mistake, this is a slimmed-down sequel to the blockbuster original. So Harry and Meghan’s new Netflix chapter [is] less champagne budget, more Prosecco by the glass.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The couple’s new output will include a second season of the Duchess’s ‘With Love, Meghan’ lifestyle show later this month, as well as a Christmas special in December<\/p>\n

Netflix has already released the first series of With Love, Meghan as well as Polo, Heart of Invictus, Live to Lead and the couple’s bombshell documentary Harry & Meghan as well as being a business partner on Meghan’s lifestyle brand, As Ever.<\/p>\n

Five years ago, Harry and Meghan secured a lucrative contract thought to be worth $100million (\u00a374million) with Netflix after quitting as senior working royals in 2020.<\/p>\n

The renewed deal was described by the Sussexes – who made the announcement with Netflix – as ‘extending their creative partnership’ through Archewell Productions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the new terms are understood to be worth less for Harry and Meghan than their previous contract, according to a person familiar with the deal, and represent Netflix loosening its ties with the couple.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a statement, Meghan said: ‘We’re proud to extend our partnership with Netflix and expand our work together to include the As Ever brand.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria said: ‘We’re excited to continue our partnership.’\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Meghan Markle and Prince Harry‘s new Netflix deal is a ‘downgrade’ and\u00a0more of a ‘we’ll call you’ than…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61220,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[64,63,100,134,7179,33664,435,5513,13935],"class_list":{"0":"post-61219","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-dailymail","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-femail","13":"tag-meghan-markle","14":"tag-netflix","15":"tag-prince-harry","16":"tag-royals"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61219\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}