Great behind the scenes look at Netflix and how it is changing the landscape of Television.
From The New York Times:
Netflix Is Betting Its Future on Exclusive Programming
It is April 9 just before midnight in the war room of Netflix’s headquarters here, where the smell of popcorn fills the air and a team of engineers, social media experts and other specialists starts counting down the seconds until the new “Daredevil” superhero series goes live on the streaming service.
At the stroke of 12, applause breaks out in the room. Flutes of Champagne are passed around as the Netflix team checks that the series is available for binge watching across devices in more than 50 countries around the world.
“Daredevil” is the 17th Netflix original series to make its debut this year, representing a bold bet by the company to significantly increase its investment in exclusive programming. Just three years after Netflix started streaming its first original series, “Lilyhammer,” the company is planning 320 hours of original programming in 2015. That is about three times what it offered last year.
And the money quote:
“We’ve had 80 years of linear TV, and it’s been amazing, and in its day the fax machine was amazing,” he said. “The next 20 years will be this transformation from linear TV to Internet TV.”
I gave our Roku box a good couple of months trial and then ditched DirecTV. Massive wailing and gnashing of teeth from their customer service representative but I told them that, with all the added content, I was paying about $20/month for Netflix and my business already had Amazon Prime. Beats spending $90+/month for three or four channels I like to watch and 150 home shopping channels that I don't.
Some buggy-whip manufacturer turned to automotive accessories when Henry Ford came out with his Model A, some did not. Times change and those that forsee and adapt will thrive.
