Netflix only started streaming video on-demand 11 years ago. But in that short amount of time, it’s been able to transform the media industry.
The company’s success has inspired effusive headlines, like “How Netflix Is Everything To Everyone” and memes, like the omnipresent date idea #netflixandchill.
With shows like “Orange Is The New Black,” “The Crown” and “Narcos,” Netflix seems to be taking over the world. It plans to spend more than eight billion dollars on content this year alone.
Even Beyonce might be hopping on board. Even if that doesn’t happen, the streaming service isn’t short on talent. Shonda Rhimes, the Obamas and Ryan Murphy have all signed deals with Netflix.
All the while, competition in the on-demand game is growing. Apple and Amazon are also snapping up high-profile talent, and some outlets like Disney are pulling their content from Netflix to potentially use for their own streaming services, according to The Washington Post.
What’s behind Netflix’s success? And what does their future mean for the media landscape?
Reed Hastings, Netflix’s CEO, unpacks some of the company’s secret sauce in this TED talk.
Produced by Danielle Knight. Writeup by Gabrielle Healy.
GUESTS
Tom Nunan, Film and television producer; executive producer of the Oscar-winning film “Crash”; graduate school lecturer, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television; former president, United Paramount Network and NBC Studios; @realtomnunan
Amanda Lotz, Professor of media studies, University of Michigan; fellow, Peabody Media Center; author, “We Now Disrupt This Broadcast: How Cable Transformed Television and the Internet Revolutionized It All”; @DrTVLotz
Steven Zeitchik, Reporter covering the business of entertainment, Washington Post; former entertainment reporter, Los Angeles Times; @ZeitchikWaPo
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