NETFLIX ARTICLE IN REVERE MAGAZINE

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Remember growing up when your parent’s would say “back in my day…(fill in the blank with the luxuries we have today that make our lives so much easier)”. For the majority of people that endured these never ending taunts from their elders one of subjects that came up often was technology. “Just be happy you have color TV”, “When I wanted to make plans I had to do it over the phone, none of this texting nonsense”, “Google?! Have you ever had to use an encyclopedia?” the list goes on. As the tech boom, yes it’s still a boom, rages on there are still a litany of advances making our lives “easier”. A prime example: Netflix.

The American on-demand internet streaming and disc digital media provider started not long after Al Gore invented the internet. The company was established way back in 1997 in Los Gatos, California. A couple years later Netflix began its subscription based distribution to a modest market, most of us were too busy chatting on AOL to catch on early. Fortunately with the increasing affordability of DVD players and discs, the distributor that spawned the likes of Game Fly and Redbox began to gain traction. By 2007 Netflix had announced its billionith DVD delivery; the company had strong earnings and a stranglehold on the market. But not unlike Compaq and Netscape the competition caught up. The aforementioned Game Fly and Redbox, coupled with the emergence of Amazon Video and Hulu, cut into Netflix’s customer base. So what kept Netflix in the game? Diversification and adaptation.

Netflix expanded its business model to account for the growing demand of internet or streaming based media. Over the past half dozen years or so Netflix has fought numerous distributors to gain exclusive rights on certain content, specifically countless TV series that can’t be seen anywhere else unless you buy the DVDs or wait for syndicated re-runs on cable. Although these changes helped Netflix stay competitive, it wasn’t near the powerhouse it was in 2007. Earlier this year, in an effort to return to dominance, Netflix became a “streaming TV network service” with direct plans to compete with cable and satellite television providers.

If you really want you can still order DVDs and Blu Rays for home delivery, you know, those things you’ve been using as coasters the last couple of years, but why bother when you can have everything delivered at the touch of a button. Netflix’s primary focus now rests in two markets, the already saturated streaming media market of released movies and syndicated television and now the “streaming TV network service”, a totally original business model with the capability to change how we watch television entirely.

Netflix knew to be successful with this new idea, for people to buy in, they would need to produce television series that could compete, both from a commercial and critical standpoint, with not only the mega-network shows but also with other individual paid service channels (HBO, Showtime, Starz, ect). If you had to compare the new Netflix model with anything else it would most closely mirror these premium channels, the only difference, although an extremely important one, is fact you don’t need a cable or satellite subscription.

First up, House of Cards. The political drama series was driven by Academy Award winning director David Fincher and anchored by Kevin Spacey as the acting lead. Netflix did something else unorthodox when releasing the series; all 13 episodes of the first season were release simultaneously, allowing viewers to plow through the season in marathon fashion. The move proved successful and House of Cards was a certified hit. On the tails of the release of Cards Netflix released the fourth season of Arrested Development, after securing the rights to produce the defunct Fox comedy in 2011, in May 2013. Met with some ire from fans of the original three seasons the release was still considered successful with multiple critics praising it for its “each character gets an episode, with everyone’s parallel stories eventually intersecting” framework. In a matter of months, after the release of both series, subscriptions were up nearly 4 million and near 37 million total by June 2013.

In addition to the highly popular Cards and Development series, Netflix has also released Hemlock Grove, a horror series from director Eli Roth, and Orange is the New Black, a comedy series of a woman’s experience in prison. Although the new Netflix model is still in its early phases there are already plans and contracts in place to produce animated series based on the full length animated features Turbo, Shrek, and The Croods, in a deal signed with DreamWorks. There is also a highly anticipated Pablo Escobar drama series called Narcos slated for next year.

Netflix’s original series’ success was validated with much deserved Emmy nominations for House of Cards and Arrested Development, and some minor nominations for Hemlock Grove. Cards received 9 nominations including Best Drama and Best Actor for Spacey while Development scored a Lead Actor in a Comedy Series nom for Jason Bateman. 2014 will see the second seasons for some of these Netflix originals as well as expand the field into animation and throw Pablo Escobar on the screen to boot. The future looks promising for Netflix and judging on the success of their “streaming TV network service” model they could be changing the way we watch television in the future, especially if their customer-cost structure remains low and they can provide competitive shows for a fraction of the price of cable and satellite subscriptions. I’m talking to you DirecTV, Dish, and Comcast…watch your back!