Streaming video on demand (SVOD) market leader Netflix has a clear plan to capture international audiences: create shows directly for them. The company will continue to produce nationally and locally appealing films for a variety of countries around the world, relying less on Hollywood blockbusters and more on a granular understanding of these countries’ cultures and tastes. Next in line? Britain.
Last week saw Netflix’s share price decline by 3%
Source: Yahoo Finance
Netflix is planning a major production drive to create local content for UK streamers, in a major challenge to the country’s established television networks. The British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) and Independent Television (ITV) have long dominated British viewing – and, later this year, had plans to collaborate on a ‘Best of British’ subscription video on demand service, simply called BritBox.
Speaking at the Royal Television Society’s media convention in Cambridge, England (British TV’s main annual gathering) Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said: “We’re going to see a very large increase in how much content is produced here. That presents a lot of opportunities and a lot of challenges in terms of capacity, training and development.”
So far this year, Netflix has spent more-than half a billion dollars on UK programming. Major country-specific hits include The Crown and Sex Education. Having recently inked a deal with the iconic Shepperton studios, the company is clearly looking to drive its hold in the UK even further.
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Dominion holds Netflix in its Global Trends Ecommerce Fund.
Author: Theo Leworthy
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