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Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in
Scotts Valley, California Scotts Valley is a small city in Santa Cruz County, California, United States, about thirty miles (48 km) south of downtown San Jose and six miles (10 km) north of the city of Santa Cruz, in the upland slope of the Santa Cruz Moun ...
, it offers a film and television series library through distribution deals as well as its own productions, known as Netflix Originals. As of September 2022, Netflix had 222 million subscribers worldwide, including 73.3 million in the United States and Canada; 73.0 million in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, 39.6 million in Latin America and 34.8 million in the Asia-Pacific region. It is available worldwide aside from Mainland China, Syria, North Korea, and Russia. Netflix has played a prominent role in independent film distribution, and it is a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA). Netflix can be accessed via web browsers or via application software installed on smart TVs, set-top boxes connected to
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
s, tablet computers, smartphones, digital media players, Blu-ray players, video game consoles and virtual reality headsets on the
list of Netflix-compatible devices A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
. It is available in 4K resolution. In the United States, the company provided Digital Video Disc (DVD) and Blu-ray rentals delivered individually via the United States Postal Service from regional
warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of citie ...
s. Netflix initially both sold and rented DVDs by mail, but the sales were eliminated within a year to focus on the DVD rental business. In 2007, Netflix introduced streaming media and
video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...
. The company expanded to Canada in 2010, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean. Netflix entered the film and television production industry in 2013, debuting its first series ''House of Cards''. In January 2016, it expanded to an additional 130 countries and then operated in 190 countries. The company is ranked 115th on the '' Fortune 500'' and 219th on the Forbes Global 2000. It is the second largest entertainment/media company by market capitalization as of February 2022. In 2021, Netflix was ranked as the eighth-most trusted brand globally by Morning Consult. During the 2010s, Netflix was the top-performing stock in the S&P 500 stock market index, with a total return of 3,693%. Netflix is headquartered in Los Gatos, California, in Santa Clara County, with the two CEOs, Hastings and
Ted Sarandos Theodore Anthony Sarandos Jr. is an American businessman who serves as the co-chief executive officer and chief content officer for Netflix. Early life Sarandos was born in Phoenix, Arizona. His father was Ted Sarandos Sr, an electrician, and ...
, split between Los Gatos and Los Angeles, respectively. It also operates international offices in Asia, Europe and Latin America including in Canada, France, Brazil, Netherlands, India, Italy, Japan, Poland, South Korea and the United Kingdom. The company has production hubs in Los Angeles, Albuquerque,
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, Madrid, Vancouver and Toronto. Compared to other distributors, Netflix pays more for TV shows up front, but keeps more "upside" (i.e. future revenue opportunities from possible syndication, merchandising, etc.) on big hits.


History


Launch as a mail-based rental business (1997–2006)

Netflix was founded by Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings on August 29, 1997 in
Scotts Valley, California Scotts Valley is a small city in Santa Cruz County, California, United States, about thirty miles (48 km) south of downtown San Jose and six miles (10 km) north of the city of Santa Cruz, in the upland slope of the Santa Cruz Moun ...
. Hastings, a computer scientist and mathematician, was a co-founder of
Pure Atria Pure Software was founded in October 1991 by Reed Hastings, Raymond Peck and Mark Box. The original product was a debugging tool for Unix/C engineers called Purify. After adding new products such as Quantify and PureLink, and doubling its reven ...
, which was acquired by
Rational Software Corporation Rational Machines is an enterprise founded by Paul Levy and Mike Devlin in 1981 to provide tools to expand the use of modern software engineering practices, particularly explicit modular architecture and iterative development. It changed its ...
in 1997 for $750 million, then the biggest acquisition in Silicon Valley history. Randolph had worked as a marketing director for
Pure Atria Pure Software was founded in October 1991 by Reed Hastings, Raymond Peck and Mark Box. The original product was a debugging tool for Unix/C engineers called Purify. After adding new products such as Quantify and PureLink, and doubling its reven ...
after Pure Atria acquired a company where Randolph worked. He was previously a co-founder of
MicroWarehouse MicroWarehouse was the largest and longest established at the time, direct resellers of branded IT products and services to business in the United Kingdom. At the height of their industry dominance, Micro Warehouse had 3,500 employees in thirteen ...
, a computer mail-order company as well as vice president of marketing for Borland International. Hastings and Randolph came up with the idea for Netflix while carpooling between their homes in Santa Cruz, California and Pure Atria's headquarters in Sunnyvale.
Patty McCord Patty McCord is a human resources (HR) consultant and executive. She was the chief talent officer at Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos ...
, later head of human resources at Netflix, was also in the carpool group. Randolph admired Amazon.com and wanted to find a large category of portable items to sell over the
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...
using a similar model. Hastings and Randolph considered and rejected selling and renting VHS tapes as too expensive to stock and too delicate to ship. When they heard about DVDs, first introduced in the United States on March 24, 1997, they tested the concept of selling or renting DVDs by mail by mailing a compact disc to Hastings's house in Santa Cruz. When the disc arrived intact, they decided to enter the $16 billion home-video sales and rental industry. Hastings is often quoted saying that he decided to start Netflix after being fined $40 at a Blockbuster store for being late to return a copy of ''Apollo 13'', a claim since repudiated by Randolph. Hastings invested $2.5 million into Netflix from the sale of Pure Atria. Netflix.com launched as the first DVD rental and sales website in 1998 with 30 employees and 925 titles available—nearly all DVDs published. Randolph and Hastings met with Jeff Bezos, where Amazon.com offered to acquire Netflix for between $14 and $16 million. Fearing competition from Amazon, Randolph at first thought the offer was fair but Hastings, who owned 70% of the company, turned it down on the plane ride home. Initially, Netflix offered a per-rental model for each DVD but introduced a monthly subscription concept in September 1999. The per-rental model was dropped by early 2000, allowing the company to focus on the business model of flat-fee unlimited rentals without due dates, late fees, shipping and handling fees, or per-title rental fees. In September 2000, during the dot-com bubble, while Netflix was suffering losses, Hastings and Randolph offered to sell the company to Blockbuster LLC for $50 million.
John Antioco John Antioco is an American businessman, known for being the former CEO of Blockbuster Video who missed an opportunity to purchase Netflix before it became a multi-billion dollar streaming platform. He is now the chairman of the board of director ...
, CEO of Blockbuster, thought the offer was a joke and declined, saying "The dot-com hysteria is completely overblown." While Netflix experienced fast growth in early 2001, the continued effects of the dot-com bubble collapse and the September 11 attacks caused the company to hold off plans for its initial public offering (IPO) and to lay off one-third of its 120 employees. DVD players were a popular gift for holiday sales in late 2001, and demand for DVD subscription services were "growing like crazy", according to chief talent officer
Patty McCord Patty McCord is a human resources (HR) consultant and executive. She was the chief talent officer at Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos ...
. The company went
public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
on May 29, 2002, selling 5.5 million shares of common stock at US$15.00 per share. In 2003, Netflix was issued a patent by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office to cover its subscription rental service and several extensions. Netflix posted its first profit in 2003, earning $6.5 million on revenues of $272 million; by 2004, profit had increased to $49 million on over $500 million in revenues. In 2005, 35,000 different films were available, and Netflix shipped 1 million DVDs out every day. In 2004, Blockbuster introduced a DVD rental service, which not only allowed users to check out titles through online sites but allowed for them to return them at
brick-and-mortar Brick and mortar (also bricks and mortar or B&M) refers to a physical presence of an organization or business in a building or other structure. The term ''brick-and-mortar business'' is often used to refer to a company that possesses or leases r ...
stores. By 2006, Blockbuster's service reached two million users, and while trailing Netflix's subscriber count, was drawing business away from Netflix. Netflix lowered fees in 2007. While it was an urban legend that Netflix ultimately "killed" Blockbuster in the DVD rental market, Blockbuster's debt load and internal disagreements hurt the company. On April 4, 2006, Netflix filed a patent infringement lawsuit in which it demanded a jury trial in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging that Blockbuster LLC's online DVD rental subscription program violated two patents held by Netflix. The first cause of action alleged Blockbuster's infringement of copying the "dynamic queue" of DVDs available for each customer, Netflix's method of using the ranked preferences in the queue to send DVDs to subscribers, and Netflix's method permitting the queue to be updated and reordered. The second cause of action alleged infringement of the subscription rental service as well as Netflix's methods of communication and delivery. The companies settled their dispute on June 25, 2007; terms were not disclosed. On October 1, 2006, Netflix announced the
Netflix Prize The Netflix Prize was an open competition for the best collaborative filtering algorithm to predict user ratings for films, based on previous ratings without any other information about the users or films, i.e. without the users being identified e ...
, $1,000,000 to the first developer of a video-recommendation algorithm that could beat its existing algorithm Cinematch, at predicting customer ratings by more than 10%. On September 21, 2009, it awarded the $1,000,000 prize to team "BellKor’s Pragmatic Chaos." Cinematch, launched in 2000, is a recommendation system that recommended movies to its users, many of which they might not ever had heard of before. Through its division
Red Envelope Entertainment Red Envelope Entertainment (originally Netflix First) was a film production unit created by Netflix in 2006. The studio produced independent content for the company's DVD-by-mail service. The company produced and/or distributed over 100 films, ...
, Netflix licensed and distributed independent films such as '' Born into Brothels'' and ''
Sherrybaby ''Sherrybaby'' is a 2006 American drama film written and directed by Laurie Collyer. Screened at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2006, the film received a limited release in the United States on September 8, 2006. Plot The story takes ...
''. In late 2006,
Red Envelope Entertainment Red Envelope Entertainment (originally Netflix First) was a film production unit created by Netflix in 2006. The studio produced independent content for the company's DVD-by-mail service. The company produced and/or distributed over 100 films, ...
also expanded into producing original content with filmmakers such as John Waters. Netflix closed Red Envelope Entertainment in 2008.


Transition to streaming services (2007–2012)

In January 2007, the company launched a streaming media service, introducing
video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...
via the Internet. However, at that time it only had 1,000 films available for streaming, compared to 70,000 available on DVD. The company had for some time considered offering movies online, but it was only in the mid-2000s that data speeds and bandwidth costs had improved sufficiently to allow customers to download movies from the net. The original idea was a "Netflix box" that could download movies overnight, and be ready to watch the next day. By 2005, Netflix had acquired movie rights and designed the box and service. But after witnessing how popular streaming services such as YouTube were despite the lack of high-definition content, the concept of using a hardware device was scrapped and replaced with a streaming concept. In February 2007, Netflix delivered its billionth DVD, a copy of ''
Babel Babel is a name used in the Hebrew Bible for the city of Babylon and may refer to: Arts and media Written works Books * ''Babel'' (book), by Patti Smith * ''Babel'' (2012 manga), by Narumi Shigematsu * ''Babel'' (2017 manga), by Yūgo Ishika ...
'' to a customer in Texas. In April 2007, Netflix recruited Anthony Wood, one of the early DVR business pioneers, to build a "Netflix Player" that would allow streaming content to be played directly on a television set rather than a PC or laptop. While the player was initially developed at Netflix, Reed Hastings eventually shut down the project to help encourage other hardware manufacturers to include built-in Netflix support. In January 2008, all rental-disc subscribers became entitled to unlimited streaming at no additional cost. This change came in a response to the introduction of Hulu and to Apple's new video-rental services. In August 2008, the Netflix database was corrupted and the company was not able to ship DVDs to customers for 3 days, leading the company to move all its data to the Amazon Web Services cloud. In November 2008, Netflix began offering subscribers rentals on Blu-ray and discontinued its sale of used DVDs. In 2009, Netflix streams overtook DVD shipments. On January 6, 2010, Netflix agreed with Warner Bros. to delay new release rentals 28 days prior to retail, in an attempt to help studios sell physical copies, and similar deals involving Universal Pictures and 20th Century Fox were reached on April 9. In July 2010, Netflix signed a deal to stream movies of Relativity Media. In August 2010, Netflix reached a five-year deal worth nearly $1 billion to stream films from Paramount, Lionsgate and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The deal increased Netflix's annual spending fees, adding roughly $200 million per year. It spent $117 million in the first six months of 2010 on streaming, up from $31 million in 2009. On September 22, 2010, the company first began offering streaming service to the international market, in Canada. In November 2010, Netflix began offering a standalone streaming service separate from DVD rentals. In 2010, Netflix acquired the rights to '' Breaking Bad'', produced by Sony Pictures Television, after the show's third season, at a point where original broadcaster AMC had expressed the possibility of cancelling the show. Sony pushed Netflix to release ''Breaking Bad'' in time for the fourth season, which as a result, greatly expanded the show's audience on AMC due to new viewers binging on the Netflix past episodes, and doubling the viewership by the time of the fifth season. ''Breaking Bad'' is considered the first such show to have this "Netflix effect." In January 2011, Netflix introduced a
Netflix button The Netflix button is a button available on many modern remote controllers, used to directly connect to the popular streaming service Netflix. It was initially implemented in America in 2011. In 2015, the button was added to European remotes. This ...
for certain remote controls, allowing users to instantly access Netflix on compatible devices. In May 2011, Netflix's streaming business became the largest source of Internet streaming traffic in North America, accounting for 30% of traffic during peak hours. On July 12, 2011, Netflix announced that it would separate its existing subscription plans into two separate plans: one covering the streaming and the other DVD rental services. The cost for streaming would be $7.99 per month, while DVD rental would start at the same price. In September 2011, Netflix announced a content deal with DreamWorks Animation. In September 2011, Netflix expanded to 43 countries in Latin America. On September 18, 2011, Netflix announced its intentions to rebrand and restructure its DVD home media rental service as an independent subsidiary called Qwikster, separating DVD rental and streaming services. On October 10, 2011, Netflix announced that it would retain its DVD service under the name Netflix and that its streaming and DVD-rental plans would remain branded together. On January 4, 2012, Netflix started its expansion to Europe, launching in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In February 2012, Netflix signed a licensing deal with The Weinstein Company. In March 2012, Netflix acquired the domain name DVD.com. By 2016, Netflix rebranded its DVD-by-mail service under the name ''DVD.com, A Netflix Company''. In April 2012, Netflix filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to form a political action committee (PAC) called FLIXPAC. Netflix spokesperson Joris Evers tweeted that the intent was to "engage on issues like net neutrality, bandwidth caps, UBB and VPPA". In June 2012, Netflix signed a deal with Open Road Films. On August 23, 2012, Netflix and The Weinstein Company signed a multi-year output deal for RADiUS-TWC films. In September 2012,
Epix Epix (pronounced ''epics'' and stylized as P) is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by the Epix Entertainment LLC subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), a subsidiary of Amazon's MGM Holdings, Inc. The channel's ...
signed a five-year streaming deal with Netflix. For the initial two years of this agreement, first-run and back-catalog content from Epix was exclusive to Netflix. Epix films came to Netflix 90 days after premiering on Epix. These included films from Paramount, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Lionsgate. On October 18, 2012, Netflix launched in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. On December 4, 2012, Netflix and Disney announced an exclusive multi-year agreement for first-run United States subscription television rights to Walt Disney Studios' animated and live-action films, with classics such as '' Dumbo'', '' Alice in Wonderland'' and '' Pocahontas'' available immediately and others available on Netflix beginning in 2016.
Direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy w ...
releases were made available in 2013. The agreement with Disney ended in 2019 due to the launch of Disney+. Netflix retained the rights to continue streaming the Marvel series that were produced for the service until March 1, 2022, following Disney's reacquisition of the rights to those series. On January 14, 2013, Netflix signed an agreement with Time Warner's Turner Broadcasting System and Warner Bros. Television to distribute Cartoon Network, Warner Bros. Animation, and Adult Swim content, as well as TNT's '' Dallas'', beginning in March 2013. The rights to these programs were given to Netflix shortly after deals with Viacom to stream Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. programs expired.


Development of original programming (2013–2017)

In 2013, the company decided to slow launches in Europe to control subscription costs. In February 2013, Netflix announced it would be hosting its own awards ceremony, ''The Flixies''. On March 13, 2013, Netflix added a Facebook sharing feature, letting United States subscribers access "Watched by your friends" and "Friends' Favorites" by agreeing. This was not legal until the
Video Privacy Protection Act The Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) is a bill that was passed by the United States Congress in 1988 as and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan. It was created to prevent what it refers to as "wrongful disclosure of video tape renta ...
was modified in early 2013. In February 2013, DreamWorks Animation and Netflix co-produced '' Turbo Fast'', based on the movie '' Turbo'', which premiered in July. Netflix has since become a major distributor of animated family and kid shows. In July 2013, '' Orange Is the New Black'' debuted on Netflix, which became Netflix's most-watched original series. On August 1, 2013, Netflix reintroduced the "Profiles" feature that permits accounts to accommodate up to five user profiles. In September 2013, Netflix launched in the Netherlands and was then available in 40 countries. In November 2013, Netflix and Marvel Television announced a five-season deal to produce live-action Marvel superhero-focused series:
Daredevil Daredevil may refer to: * A stunt performer Arts and media Comics * Daredevil (Lev Gleason Publications), a fictional 1940s superhero popularized by writer-artist Charles Biro * Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), a Marvel comic book superhero ...
, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and
Luke Cage Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' #1 (June 1972) and was created by Archie Go ...
. The deal involves the release of four 13-episode seasons that culminate in a mini-series called '' The Defenders''. ''Daredevil'' and ''Jessica Jones'' premiered in 2015. The ''
Luke Cage Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' #1 (June 1972) and was created by Archie Go ...
'' series premiered on September 30, 2016, followed by '' Iron Fist'' on March 17, 2017, and '' The Defenders'' on August 18, 2017. The series, however, were removed from Netflix on March 1, 2022, following Disney's announcement to reacquire the series' rights after Netflix's deal expired. In February 2014, Netflix discovered that Comcast Cable was slowing its traffic down and agreed to pay Comcast to directly connect to the Comcast network. On March 7, 2014, new ''Star Wars'' content was released on Netflix's streaming service: the sixth season of the television series '' Star Wars: The Clone Wars'', as well as all five prior and the feature film. In April 2014, Netflix signed '' Arrested Development'' creator Mitchell Hurwitz and his production firm The Hurwitz Company to a multi-year deal to create original projects for the service. In May 2014, Netflix acquired streaming rights to films produced by Sony Pictures Animation. In June 2014, Netflix unveiled a global rebranding: a new logo, which uses a modern typeface with the
drop shadow In graphic design and computer graphics, a drop shadow is a visual effect consisting of a drawing element which looks like the shadow of an object, giving the impression that the object is raised above the objects behind it. The drop shadow is o ...
ing removed, and a new website UI. In September 2014, Netflix became available in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. On September 10, 2014, Netflix participated in Internet Slowdown Day by deliberately slowing down its speed in protest of net neutrality laws. In October 2014, Netflix announced a four-film deal with Adam Sandler and his Happy Madison Productions. In April 2015, following the launch of ''
Daredevil Daredevil may refer to: * A stunt performer Arts and media Comics * Daredevil (Lev Gleason Publications), a fictional 1940s superhero popularized by writer-artist Charles Biro * Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), a Marvel comic book superhero ...
'', Netflix director of content operations Tracy Wright announced that Netflix had added support for audio description (a narration track with aural descriptions of key visual elements for the blind or visually impaired), and had begun to work with its partners to add descriptions to its other original series over time. The following year, as part of a settlement with the
American Council of the Blind The American Council of the Blind (ACB) is a nationwide organization in the United States. It is an organization mainly made up of blind and visually impaired people who want to achieve independence and equality (although there are many sighted ...
, Netflix agreed to provide descriptions for its original series within 30 days of their premiere, and add screen reader support and the ability to browse content by availability of descriptions. In March 2015, Netflix expanded to Australia and New Zealand. In September 2015, Netflix launched in Japan, its first country in Asia. In October 2015, Netflix launched in Italy, Portugal, and Spain. In January 2016, at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show, Netflix announced a major international expansion of its service into 130 additional countries. It then had become available worldwide except China, Syria, North Korea, Kosovo and
Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...
. In May 2016, Netflix created a tool called Fast.com to determine the speed of an Internet connection. It received praise for being "simple" and "easy to use", and does not include online advertising, unlike competitors. On November 30, 2016, Netflix launched an offline playback feature, allowing users of the Netflix mobile apps on Android or iOS to cache content on their devices in standard or high quality for viewing offline, without an Internet connection. In 2016, Netflix released an estimated 126 original series or films, more than any other network or cable channel. In 2016, Netflix announced plans to expand its in-house production division and produced TV series including '' The Ranch'' and '' Chelsea''. In February 2017, Netflix signed a music publishing deal with BMG Rights Management, whereby BMG will oversee rights outside of the United States for music associated with Netflix original content. Netflix continues to handle these tasks in-house in the United States. On April 25, 2017, Netflix signed a licensing deal with IQiyi, a Chinese video streaming platform owned by Baidu, to allow selected Netflix original content to be distributed in China on the platform. On August 7, 2017, in the first acquisition of an entire company, Netflix acquired Millarworld, the creator-owned publishing company of comic book writer Mark Millar. On August 14, 2017, Netflix announced that it had entered into an exclusive development deal with Shonda Rhimes and her production company Shondaland. In September 2017, Netflix announced it would offer its low-broadband mobile technology to airlines to provide better in-flight Wi-Fi so that passengers can watch movies on Netflix while on planes. In September 2017,
Minister of Heritage A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizati ...
Mélanie Joly announced that Netflix had agreed to make a (US$400 million) investment over the next five years in producing content in Canada. The company denied that the deal was intended to result in a tax break. Netflix realized this goal by December 2018. In October 2017, Netflix iterated a goal of having half of its library consist of original content by 2019, announcing a plan to invest $8 billion on original content in 2018. There will be a particular focus on films and anime through this investment, with a plan to produce 80 original films and 30 anime series. In October 2017, Netflix introduced the "Skip Intro" feature which allows customers to skip the intros to shows on its platform. They do so through a variety of techniques including manual reviewing, audio tagging, and machine learning. In November 2017, Netflix signed an exclusive multi-year deal with ''Orange Is the New Black'' creator Jenji Kohan. In November 2017, Netflix withdrew from co-hosting the 75th Golden Globe Awards with The Weinstein Company due to the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse cases.


Expansion into international productions (2017–2020)

In November 2017, Netflix announced that it would be making its first original Colombian series, to be executive produced by Ciro Guerra. In December 2017, Netflix signed ''Stranger Things'' director-producer Shawn Levy and his production company
21 Laps Entertainment 21 Laps Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded and run by director-producer Shawn Levy. The company is best known as the producers of '' Stranger Things'', and exclusively distributes content through a part ...
to what sources say is a four-year deal. In 2017, Netflix invested in distributing exclusive stand-up comedy specials from Dave Chappelle, Louis C.K., Chris Rock, Jim Gaffigan, Bill Burr and Jerry Seinfeld. In February 2018, Netflix acquired the rights to ''
The Cloverfield Paradox ''The Cloverfield Paradox'' is a 2018 American science fiction horror film directed by Julius Onah and written by Oren Uziel, from a story by Uziel and Doug Jung, and produced by J. J. Abramss Bad Robot Productions. It is the third film in th ...
'' from Paramount Pictures for $50 million and launched on its service on February 4, 2018, shortly after airing its first trailer during Super Bowl LII. Analysts believed that Netflix's purchase of the film helped to make the film instantly profitable for Paramount compared to a more traditional theatrical release, while Netflix benefited from the surprise reveal. Other films acquired by Netflix include international distribution for Paramount's ''
Annihilation In particle physics, annihilation is the process that occurs when a subatomic particle collides with its respective antiparticle to produce other particles, such as an electron colliding with a positron to produce two photons. The total ener ...
'' and Universal's '' News of the World'' and worldwide distribution of Universal's ''
Extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the Endling, last individual of the species, although the Functional ext ...
'', Warner Bros.' '' Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle'', Paramount's '' The Lovebirds'' and 20th Century Studios' '' The Woman in the Window''. In March, the service ordered ''Formula 1: Drive to Survive'', a racing docuseries following teams in the Formula One world championship. In March 2018, Sky UK announced an agreement with Netflix to integrate Netflix's subscription VOD offering into its pay-TV service. Customers with its high-end Sky Q set-top box and service will be able to see Netflix titles alongside their regular Sky channels. In October 2022, Netflix revealed that its annual revenue from the UK subscribers in 2021 was £1.4bn. In April 2018, Netflix pulled out of the Cannes Film Festival, in response to new rules requiring competition films to have been released in French theaters. The Cannes premiere of ''
Okja ''Okja'' (; ) is a 2017 science-fantasy action-adventure film directed by Bong Joon-ho with a screenplay by Bong and Jon Ronson from a story by Bong. The film is about a young girl who raised a genetically modified "super pig" (the titular Okja ...
'' in 2017 was controversial, and led to discussions over the appropriateness of films with simultaneous digital releases being screened at an event showcasing theatrical film; audience members also booed the Netflix
production logo A production logo, vanity card, vanity plate, or vanity logo is a logo used by movie studios and television production companies to brand what they produce and to determine the production company and the distributor of a television show or fil ...
at the screening. Netflix's attempts to negotiate to allow a limited release in France were curtailed by organizers, as well as French
cultural exception Cultural exception (french: l'exception culturelle) is a political concept introduced by France in General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) negotiations in 1993 to treat culture differently from other commercial products. In other words, its p ...
law—where theatrically screened films are legally forbidden from being made available via video-on-demand services until at least 36 months after their release. Besides traditional Hollywood markets as well as from partners like the BBC, Sarandos said the company also looking to expand investments in non-traditional foreign markets due to the growth of viewers outside of North America. At the time, this included programs such as '' Dark'' from Germany, ''
Ingobernable ''Ingobernable'' is a Mexican political drama streaming television series starring Kate del Castillo that premiered on Netflix on 24 March 2017. Del Castillo plays the fictional First Lady of Mexico, Emilia Urquiza, and Erik Hayser plays the fic ...
'' from Mexico and '' 3%'' from Brazil. On May 22, 2018, former president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama signed a deal to produce docu-series, documentaries and features for Netflix under the Obamas' newly formed production company, Higher Ground Productions. In June 2018, Netflix announced a partnership with Telltale Games to port its adventure games to the service in a streaming video format, allowing simple controls through a television remote. The first game, '' Minecraft: Story Mode'', was released in November 2018. In July 2018, Netflix earned the most Emmy nominations of any network for the first time with 112 nods. On August 27, 2018, the company signed a five-year exclusive overall deal with international best–selling author Harlan Coben. On the same day, the company inked an overall deal with '' Gravity Falls'' creator
Alex Hirsch Alexander Robert Hirsch (born June 18, 1985) is an American voice actor, animator, writer, storyboard artist, and producer. He is the creator of the Disney Channel series ''Gravity Falls'', for which he provided the voices of Grunkle Stan, Soos ...
. In October 2018, Netflix paid under $30 million to acquire
Albuquerque Studios Netflix Albuquerque Studios is a film studio located in the Mesa del Sol development of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The premises include eight sound stages, production offices, and a backlot. The studios served as headquarters for the ''Breaking Bad ...
(ABQ Studios), a $91 million film and TV production facility with eight sound stages in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for its first U.S. production hub, pledging to spend over $1 billion over the next decade to create one of the largest film studios in North America. In November 2018, Paramount Pictures signed a multi-picture film deal with Netflix, making Paramount the first major film studio to sign a deal with Netflix. A sequel to AwesomenessTV's ''
To All the Boys I've Loved Before ''To All the Boys I've Loved Before'' is a 2014 young adult romance novel by American author Jenny Han, first published by Simon & Schuster and released on April 15, 2014. Han was inspired to write the book based on her own habit of writing lov ...
'' was released on Netflix under the title '' To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You'' as part of the agreement. In December 2018, the company announced a partnership with
ESPN Films ESPN Films, formerly known as ESPN Original Entertainment (EOE), is an American production company which produces and distributes sports films and documentaries. It is owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (wh ...
on a television documentary chronicling Michael Jordan and the 1997–98 Chicago Bulls season titled '' The Last Dance''. It was released internationally on Netflix and became available for streaming in the United States three months after a broadcast airing on ESPN. In January 2019, '' Sex Education'' made its debut as a Netflix original series with much critical acclaim. On January 22, 2019, Netflix sought and was approved for membership into the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), as the first streaming service to become a member of the association. In February 2019, '' The Haunting'' creator Mike Flanagan joined frequent collaborator Trevor Macy as a partner in Intrepid Pictures and the duo signed an exclusive overall deal with Netflix to produce television content. On May 9, 2019, Netflix contracted with
Dark Horse Entertainment Dark Horse Entertainment is a motion picture and television production arm of American comic book publishing company Dark Horse Comics, founded in 1992. They also have a sub-label, Dark Horse Indie. They have their headquarters in Milwaukie, Ore ...
to make television series and films based on comics from Dark Horse Comics. In July 2019, Netflix announced that it would be opening a hub at Shepperton Studios as part of a deal with
Pinewood Group Pinewood Group Limited (formerly Pinewood Group plc and Pinewood Shepperton plc) is a British multinational film studio and television studio company with headquarters in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England. The group runs Pinewood Studios an ...
. In early August 2019, Netflix negotiated an exclusive multi-year film and television deal with '' Game of Thrones'' creators and showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. The first Netflix production created by Benioff and Weiss was planned as an adaptation of Liu Cixin's science fiction novel '' The Three-Body Problem'', part of the ''
Remembrance of Earth's Past ''Remembrance of Earth's Past'' () is a science fiction series by Chinese writer Liu Cixin. The series is also popularly referred to as ''Three-Body'' from part of the title of its first novel, '' The Three-Body Problem'' (). The series details ...
'' trilogy. On September 30, 2019, in addition to renewing ''Stranger Things'' for a fourth season, Netflix announced signing the series’ creators
The Duffer Brothers Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer (born February 15, 1984), often credited as the Duffer Brothers, are American film and television writers, directors, and producers. They are best known as the creators, directors and executive producers of the hit Ne ...
to a nine-figure deal for additional films and televisions shows over multiple years. On November 13, 2019, Netflix and Nickelodeon entered into a multi-year agreement to produce several original animated feature films and television series based on Nickelodeon's library of characters. This agreement expanded on their existing relationship, in which new specials based on the past Nickelodeon series '' Invader Zim'' and '' Rocko's Modern Life'' ('' Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus'' and '' Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling'' respectively) were released by Netflix. Other new projects planned under the team-up include a music project featuring Squidward Tentacles from the animated television series '' SpongeBob SquarePants'', and films based on '' The Loud House'' and '' Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles''. In November 2019, Netflix announced it had signed a long-term lease to save the Paris Theatre, the last single-screen movie theater in Manhattan. The company oversaw several renovations at the theater, including new seats and a concession stand. In January 2020, Netflix announced a new four-film deal with Adam Sandler worth up to $275 million. On February 25, 2020, Netflix formed partnerships with six Japanese creators to produce an original Japanese anime project. This partnership includes manga creator group CLAMP, mangaka Shin Kibayashi, mangaka Yasuo Ohtagaki, novelist and film director Otsuichi, novelist Tow Ubutaka, and manga creator Mari Yamazaki. On March 4, 2020, ViacomCBS announced that it will be producing two spin-off films based on ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' for Netflix. On April 7, 2020,
Peter Chernin Peter Chernin (born May 29, 1951) is an American businessman and investor. He is the chairman and CEO of The Chernin Group (TCG), which he founded in 2010. TCG manages, operates and invests in businesses in the media, entertainment, and technolog ...
's Chernin Entertainment made a multi-year first-look deal with Netflix to make films. On May 29, 2020, Netflix announced the acquisition of Grauman's Egyptian Theatre from the
American Cinematheque The American Cinematheque is an independent, nonprofit cultural organization in Los Angeles, California, United States dedicated exclusively to the public presentation of the moving image in all its forms. The Cinematheque was created in 1981 as ...
to use as a special events venue. In July 2020, Netflix appointed Sarandos as co-CEO. In July 2020, Netflix invested in '' Black Mirror'' creators
Charlie Brooker Charlton Brooker (born 3 March 1971) is an English television presenter, writer, producer and satirist. He is the creator and co-showrunner of the sci-fi drama anthology series ''Black Mirror'', and has written for comedy series such as ''Bras ...
and
Annabel Jones Annabel Jones (born January 1972) is a Welsh television producer, best known for producing ''Black Mirror'' with Charlie Brooker. She is a co-writer of the 2018 book ''Inside Black Mirror'', with Brooker and Jason Arnopp. Jones is co-founder of t ...
’ new production outfit Broke And Bones. In September 2020, Netflix signed a multi-million dollar deal with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Harry and Meghan agreed to a multi-year deal promising to create TV shows, films, and children's content as part of their commitment to stepping away from the duties of the royal family. In September 2020, Hastings released a book about the Netflix culture titled ''No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention'', which was co-authored by
Erin Meyer Erin Meyer (born August 22, 1971) is an American author and professor at INSEAD Business School, based in Paris. She is most known for writing the 2014 book, ''The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business'' a st ...
. In December 2020, Netflix signed a first-look deal with Millie Bobby Brown to develop and star in several projects including a potential action franchise.


Expansion into gaming, ''Squid Game'' (2021–present)

In March 2021, Netflix earned the most Academy Award nominations of any studio, with 36. Netflix won seven Academy Awards, which was the most by any studio. Later that year, Netflix also won more Emmys than any other network or studio with 44 wins, tying the record for most Emmys won in a single year set by CBS in 1974. On April 8, 2021, Sony Pictures Entertainment announced an agreement for Netflix to hold the U.S. pay television window rights to its releases beginning in 2022, replacing Starz and expanding upon an existing agreement with Sony Pictures Animation. The agreement also includes a first-look deal for any future direct-to-streaming films being produced by Sony Pictures, with Netflix required to commit to a minimum number of them. On April 27, 2021, Netflix announced that it was opening its first Canadian headquarters in Toronto. The company also announced that it would open an office in Sweden as well as Rome and Istanbul to increase its original content in those regions. In early June, Netflix hosted a first-ever week-long virtual event called “Geeked Week,” where it shared exclusive news, new trailers, cast appearances and more about upcoming genre titles like ''The Witcher'', ''
The Cuphead Show! ''The Cuphead Show!'' is an animated slapstick comedy streaming television series developed by Dave Wasson for Netflix, loosely based on the 2017 Canadian video game ''Cuphead'' by Studio MDHR. Chad and Jared Moldenhauer, the creators of ''Cu ...
'', and '' The Sandman''. On June 7, 2021, Jennifer Lopez's Nuyorican Productions signed a multi-year first-look deal with Netflix spanning feature films, TV series, and unscripted content, with an emphasis on projects that support diverse female actors, writers, and filmmakers. On June 10, 2021, Netflix announced it was launching an online store for curated products tied to the Netflix brand and shows such as ''Stranger Things'' and '' The Witcher''. On June 21, 2021, Steven Spielberg's
Amblin Partners Storyteller Distribution Co., LLC, doing business as Amblin Partners, LLC., is an American entertainment production company, which succeeded the live-action counterpart of DreamWorks and is led by Steven Spielberg. It develops and produces f ...
signed a deal with Netflix to release multiple new feature films for the streaming service. On June 30, 2021,
Powerhouse Animation Studios Powerhouse Animation Studios, Inc. is an American animation studio based in Austin, Texas. It was founded in April 2001 with a subsidiary called Powerhouse Animation LLC, established in summer of 2014. The company develops and produces traditiona ...
(the studio behind Netflix's ''
Castlevania ''Castlevania'' (), known in Japan as is a gothic horror action-adventure video game series and media franchise about Dracula, created and developed by Konami. It has been released on various platforms, from early systems to modern consoles, ...
'') announced signing a first-look deal with the streamer to produce more animated series. In July 2021, Netflix hired Mike Verdu, a former executive from Electronic Arts and Facebook, as vice president of game development, along with plans to add video games by 2022. Netflix announced plans to release mobile games which would be included in subscribers' plans to the service. Trial offerings were first launched for Netflix users in Poland in August 2021, offering premium mobile games based on ''Stranger Things'' including '' Stranger Things 3: The Game'', for free to subscribers through the Netflix mobile app. On July 14, 2021, Netflix signed a first-look deal with
Joey King Joey Lynn King (born July 30, 1999) is an American actress. She first gained recognition for portraying Ramona Quimby in the comedy film ''Ramona and Beezus'' (2010) and has since gained wider recognition for her lead role in ''The Kissing Booth ...
, star of ''
The Kissing Booth ''The Kissing Booth'' is a 2018 American teen romantic comedy film written and directed by Vince Marcello, based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Beth Reekles. It stars Joey King, Jacob Elordi, and Joel Courtney. The film follows Elle ( ...
'' franchise, in which King will produce and develop films for Netflix via her All The King's Horses production company. On July 21, 2021, Zack Snyder, director of Netflix's ''
Army of the Dead ''Army of the Dead'' is a 2021 American zombie heist film directed by Zack Snyder from a screenplay he co-wrote with Shay Hatten and Joby Harold, based on a story he also created. The film features an ensemble cast consisting of Dave Bautist ...
'', announced he had signed his production company The Stone Quarry to a first-look deal with; his upcoming projects include a sequel to ''Army of the Dead'', the sci-fi adventure film ''Rebel Moon''. In 2019, he agreed to produce an anime-style web series inspired by Norse mythology. As of August 2021, Netflix Originals made up 40% of Netflix's overall library in the United States. The company announced that " TUDUM: A Netflix Global Fan Event", a three-hour virtual behind the scenes featuring first-look reveals for 100 of the streamer's series, films and specials, would have its inaugural show in late September 2021. According to Netflix, the show garnered 25.7 million views across Netflix’s 29 Netflix YouTube channels, Twitter, Twitch, Facebook, TikTok and Tudum.com. Also in September, the company announced The Queen’s Ball: A Bridgerton Experience, launching in 2022 in Los Angeles,
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
, Montreal, and Washington, D.C.. '' Squid Game'', a South Korean survival drama created and produced by Hwang Dong-hyuk, had been acquired and produced by Netflix in 2019 as part of its expansion of foreign works and was released worldwide in multiple languages on September 17, 2021. The show rapidly became the service's most-watched show within a week of its launch in many markets, including Korea, the U.S. and the United Kingdom. Within its first 28 days on the service, ''Squid Game'' drew more than 111 million viewers, surpassing '' Bridgerton'' and becoming Netflix's most-watched show. On September 20, 2021, Netflix signed a long-term lease deal with
Aviva Investors Aviva Investors is an asset management company and is part of the Aviva group. History The London unit, previously known as Morley, was founded in 1971 as Geoffrey Morley and Partners. This was bought by Globe Investment in 1988 and then sold to ...
to operate and expand the Longcross Studios in Surrey, UK. On September 21, 2021, Netflix announced that it would acquire the Roald Dahl Story Company, which manages the rights to Roald Dahl's stories and characters, for an undisclosed price and would operate it as an independent company. The company acquired
Night School Studio Night School Studio, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher founded on June 6, 2014 by Sean Krankel and Adam Hines, and is based in Glendale, California. After the founding of the company, the team started development on their deb ...
, an independent video game developer, in September 2021. Netflix officially launched mobile games on November 2, 2021, for Android users around the world. Through the app, subscribers had free access to five games, including two previously made '' Stranger Things'' titles. Netflix stated that they intend to add more games to this service over time. On November 9, the collection launched for iOS. Some games in the collection require an active internet connection to play, while others will be available offline. Netflix Kids' accounts will not have games available. On October 13, 2021, Netflix announced the launch of the Netflix Book Club, where readers will hear about new books, films, and series adaptations and have exclusive access to each book's adaptation process. Netflix will partner with Starbucks to bring the book club to life via a social series called ''But Have You Read the Book?''. Uzo Aduba will serve as the inaugural host of the series and announce monthly book selections set to be adapted by the streamer. Aduba will also speak with the cast, creators, and authors about the book adaptation process over a cup of coffee at Starbucks. Through October 2021, Netflix commonly reported viewership for its programming based on the number of viewers or households that watched a show in a given period (such as the first 28 days from its premiere) for at least two minutes. On the announcement of its quarterly earnings in October 2021, the company stated that it would switch its viewership metrics to measuring the number of hours that a show was watched, including rewatches, which the company said was closer to the measurements used in linear broadcast television, and thus "our members and the industry can better measure success in the streaming world." On November 16, 2021, Netflix announced the launch of "Top10 on Netflix.com", a new website with weekly global and country lists of the most popular titles on their service based on their new viewership metrics. On November 22, 2021, Netflix announced that it would acquire Scanline VFX, the visual effects and animation company behind '' Cowboy Bebop'' and ''Stranger Things''. On the same day,
Roberto Patino Roberto Patino is an American screenwriter and television writer, known for writing the film ''Cut Bank'', starring Liam Hemsworth, John Malkovich and Billy Bob Thornton. He created and served as showrunner of the HBO Max miniseries '' DMZ'', was a ...
signed a deal with Netflix and established his own production banner, Analog Inc., in partnership with the company. Patino's first project under the deal is a series adaptation of Image Comics' ''Nocterra''. On December 6, 2021, Netflix and
Stage 32 Stage 32 is a U.S.-based social network and educational site for creative professionals who work in film, television and theater. As of August 2021, the global web site had more than 800,000 members. Stage 32 links professionals in the enterta ...
announced that they have teamed up the workshops at the Creating Content for the Global Marketplace program. On December 7, 2021, Netflix partnered with IllumiNative, a woman-led non-profit organization, for the Indigenous Producers Training Program. On December 9, 2021, Netflix announced the launch of " Tudum," an official companion website that offers news, exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes videos for its original television shows and films. On December 13, 2021, Netflix signed a multi-year overall deal with
Kalinda Vazquez Kalinda Vazquez is an American television writer and producer. She is well known for her work on the Fox drama ''Prison Break'' and The CW espionage series ''Nikita''. Career Vazquez worked as a writing assistant, staff writer and story editor ...
. On December 16, 2021, Netflix signed a multi-year creative partnership with Spike Lee and his production company
40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks is the production company of Spike Lee, founded in 1979. The company name is a reference to the phrase most often used to refer to the early Reconstruction period policy and episode of events, in which certain re ...
to develop film and television projects. In December 2021, former Netflix engineer Sung Mo Jun was sentenced to 2 years in prison for an insider trading scheme where he leaked subscriber numbers in advance of official releases. In compliance with the EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive and its implementation in France, Netflix reached commitments with French broadcasting authorities and film guilds, as required by law, to invest a specific amount of its annual revenue into original French films and series. These films must be theatrically released and would not be allowed to be carried on Netflix until 15 months after their release. In January 2022, Netflix ordered additional sports docuseries from ''Drive to Survive'' producers Box to Box Films, including a series that would follow PGA Tour golfers, and another that would follow professional tennis players on the ATP and WTA Tour circuits. The company announced plans to acquire Next Games in March 2022 for as part of Netflix's expansions into gaming. Next Games had developed the mobile title ''Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales'' as well as two ''The Walking Dead'' mobile games. Later in the month, Netflix also acquired the Texas-based mobile game developer,
Boss Fight Entertainment Boss Fight Entertainment is an American video game development company based in Allen, Texas, with a second studio based in Austin, Texas. Boss Fight was formed by former Zynga Dallas and Ensemble Studios employees in June 2013. History Boss Fi ...
, for an undisclosed sum. On March 15, 2022, Netflix announced a partnership with Dr. Seuss Enterprises to produce five new series and specials based on Seuss properties following the success of '' Green Eggs and Ham''. On March 29, 2022, Netflix announced that it would open an office in Poland to serve as a hub for its original productions across Central and Eastern Europe. On March 30, 2022, Netflix extended its lease agreement with Martini Film Studios, just outside Vancouver, Canada, for another five years. On March 31, 2022, Netflix ordered a docuseries that would follow teams in the 2022 Tour de France, which would also be co-produced by Box to Box Films''.'' Following the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. A ...
, Netflix suspended its operations and future projects in Russia. It also announced that it would not comply with a proposed directive by Roskomnadzor requiring all internet streaming services with more than 100,000 subscribers to integrate the major free-to-air channels (which are primarily state-owned). A month later, ex-Russian subscribers filed a class action lawsuit against Netflix. At the end of Q1 2022, Netflix announced a decline in subscribers with almost 200,000 fewer viewers than at the end of the previous year. Netflix stated that 100 million households globally were sharing passwords to their account with others, and that Canada and the United States accounted for 30 million of them. Following these announcements, Netflix's stock price fell by 35 percent. By June 2022, Netflix had laid off 450 full-time and contract employees as part of the company's plan to trim costs amid lower than expected subscriber growth. The layoffs represented approximately 2 percent of the workforce and spread across the company globally. On April 13, 2022, Netflix released the series ''
Our Great National Parks ''Our Great National Parks'' is a five-part Netflix documentary series about some of the world's national parks and their wildlife. It is presented by former president of the United States Barack Obama and was released on April 13, 2022. Cast * B ...
'', which was hosted and narrated by former US President Barack Obama. It also partnered with Group Effort Initiative, a company founded by Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, to provide opportunities behind the camera for those in underrepresented communities. On the same day, Netflix partnered with Lebanon-based
Arab Fund For Arts And Culture The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC) () is an independent, non-profit NGO that funds individuals and cultural organizations in the Arab region. By awarding grants for partial funding of cultural projects and other forms of support, AFAC fac ...
for supporting the Arab female filmmakers. It will provide a one-time grant of $250,000 to female producers and directors in the Arab world through the company's Fund for Creative Equity. Also on the same day, Netflix announced an '' Exploding Kittens'' mobile card game tied to a new animated TV series, which will launch in May. Netflix announced that they have formed a creative partnership with
J. Miles Dale J. Miles Dale (born 1961) is a Canadian producer and director of film and television, best known for producing the critically acclaimed film, ''The Shape of Water'', for which he won the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 90th Academy Awards. ...
. The company also formed a partnership with Japan's
Studio Colorido is a Japanese animation studio subsidiary of Twin Engine. History The company was established by producer Hideo Uda in 2011. The studio follows a principle of "making a place where people involved in anime can continue to work peacefully and ...
, signing a multi-film deal to boost their anime content in Asia. The streaming giant is said to co-produce three feature films with the studio, the first of which will premiere in September 2022. On April 28, 2022, the company launched its inaugural ''Netflix Is a Joke'' comedy festival, featuring more than 250 shows over 12 nights at 30-plus locations across Los Angeles, including the first-ever stand-up show at Dodger Stadium. The first volume of ''
Stranger Things 4 The fourth season of the American science fiction horror drama television series '' Stranger Things'' was released worldwide on the streaming service Netflix in two volumes. The first set of seven episodes was released on May 27, 2022, while ...
'' logged Netflix's biggest premiere weekend ever for an original series with 286.79 million hours viewed. This was preceded by a new ''Stranger Things'' interactive experience hosted in New York City that was developed by the show's creators. After the release of the second volume of ''Stranger Things 4'' on July 1, 2022, it became Netflix's second title to receive more than one billion hours viewed. On July 19, 2022, Netflix announced plans to acquire Australian animation studio Animal Logic. On July 22, 2022, it was reported that Netflix lost almost a million subscribers, which reduced its total subscribers down to 220.7 million. On September 5, 2022, it was reported that Netflix opened its office in Warsaw, Poland, responsible for the service's operations in 28 markets in Central and Eastern Europe. On October 4, 2022, Netflix have signed a creative partnership with
Andrea Berloff Andrea Berloff (born 1974) is an American screenwriter, actress, director, and producer. Berloff is best known for writing the 2006 disaster drama film ''World Trade Center'', and co-writing the 2015 biographical drama ''Straight Outta Compton'' ...
and John Gatins. On October 11, 2022, Netflix signed up to the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board for external measurement of viewership in the UK. On October 12, 2022, Netflix signed to build a production complex at Fort Monmouth in Eatontown, New Jersey. At the end of Q3, it was reported that Netflix gained 2.41 million new subscribers, including a gain of 100,000 in North America, totaling 223.1 million subscribers worldwide. This exceeded Netflix’s prediction of a gain of 1 million subscribers for the quarter. On October 18, 2022, Netflix announced they are exploring a cloud gaming offering as well as opening a new gaming studio in Southern California.


Availability and access


Global availability

Netflix is available in every country and territory except for
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
, North Korea,
Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...
, Syria and
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
. In January 2016, Netflix announced it would begin
VPN blocking VPN blocking is a technique used to block the encrypted protocol tunneling communications methods used by virtual private network (VPN) systems. Often used by large organizations such as national governments or corporations, it can act as a tool ...
since they can be used to watch videos from a country where they are unavailable. The result of the VPN block is that people can only watch videos available worldwide and other videos are hidden from search results. Variety is present on Netflix. Hebrew and right-to-left interface orientation, which is a common localization strategy in many markets, are what define the Israeli user interface's localization, and in some regions, Netflix offers a more affordable mobile-only subscription.


Subscriptions

Globally, Netflix had 223.09 million paying subscribers at the end of Q3 2022. Customers can subscribe to one of three plans; the difference in plans relate to video resolution, the number of simultaneous streams, and the number of devices to which content can be downloaded. At the end of Q1 2022, Netflix estimated that 100 million households globally were sharing passwords to their account with others. In March 2022, Netflix began to charge a fee for additional users in Chile, Peru, and Costa Rica to attempt to control
account sharing Account sharing, also known as credential sharing is the process of sharing login information with multiple users to access online accounts or services. This can include sharing informations like E-mail addresses, usernames and passwords for socia ...
. On July 18, 2022, Netflix announced that it would test the account sharing feature in more countries, including Argentina, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. On October 17, Netflix launched Profile Transfer to help end account sharing. In July 13, 2022, Netflix announced a partnership with Microsoft to launch an advertising-supported subscription plan. On August 17, 2022, it was reported that Netflix's planned advertising tier would not allow subscribers to download content like the existing ad-free platform. On July 20, 2022, it was announced that the advertising-supported tier would be coming to Netflix in 2023 but it would not feature the full library of content. Netflix US launched with 5.1% of the library unavailable including 60 Netflix Originals. In September, Netflix announced that the launch would be moved up to November 1, 2022, but in October, the launch date was changed to November 3, 2022. The ad-supported plan is called "Basic with Ads" and it costs $6.99 per month in the United States. In Canada, the plan was launched two days later, on November 1.


Device support

Netflix can be accessed via an internet browser on PCs, while Netflix apps are available on various platforms, including Blu-ray Disc players, tablet computers, mobile phones, smart TVs, digital media players, and video game consoles (including Xbox 360 and newer, and PlayStation 3 and newer). In addition, a growing number of multichannel television providers, including cable television and IPTV services, have added Netflix apps accessible within their own set-top boxes, sometimes with the ability for its content (along with those of other online video services) to be presented within a unified search interface alongside linear television programming as an "all-in-one" solution.


Content


Original programming

A "
Netflix Original Netflix is an American global Internet streaming-on-demand media provider that has distributed a number of original streaming television shows, including original series, specials, miniseries, and documentaries and films. Netflix's original pr ...
" is content that is produced, co-produced, or distributed by Netflix exclusively on their services. Netflix funds their original shows differently than other TV networks when they sign a project, providing the money upfront and immediately ordering two seasons of most series. Over the years, Netflix output ballooned to a level unmatched by any television network or streaming service. According to ''Variety Insight'', Netflix produced a total of 240 new original shows and movies in 2018, then climbed to 371 in 2019, a figure "greater than the number of original series that the entire U.S. TV industry released in 2005." The Netflix budget allocated to production increased annually, reaching $13.6 billion in 2021 and projected to hit $18.9 billion by 2025, a figure that once again overshadowed any of its competitors. As of August 2022, Netflix Originals made up 50% of Netflix's overall library in the United States.


Film and television deals

Netflix has exclusive
pay TV Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, b ...
deals with several studios. The deals give Netflix exclusive streaming rights while adhering to the structures of traditional pay TV terms. Distributors that have licensed content to Netflix include Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment and previously The Walt Disney Studios (including 20th Century Fox). Netflix also holds current and back-catalog rights to television programs distributed by Walt Disney Television, DreamWorks Classics, Kino International, Warner Bros. Television and CBS Media Ventures, along with titles from other companies such as Allspark (formerly Hasbro Studios), Saban Brands, and Funimation. Formerly, the streaming service also held rights to select television programs distributed by NBCUniversal Television Distribution, Sony Pictures Television and 20th Century Fox Television. Netflix negotiated to distribute animated films from Universal that HBO declined to acquire, such as ''
The Lorax ''The Lorax'' is a children's book written by Dr. Seuss and published in 1971. It chronicles the plight of the environment and the Lorax, the titular character, who "speaks for the trees" and confronts the Once-ler, a business magnate who causes ...
'', '' ParaNorman'', and '' Minions''. Netflix holds exclusive streaming rights to the film library of Studio Ghibli (with the exception of '' Grave of the Fireflies'') worldwide except in the U.S., Canada, China and Japan as part of an agreement signed with Ghibli's international sales holder Wild Bunch in 2020.


Gaming

In July 2021, Netflix hired Mike Verdu, a former executive from Electronic Arts and Facebook, as vice president of game development, along with plans to add video games by 2022. Netflix announced plans to release mobile games which would be included in subscribers' plans to the service. Trial offerings were first launched for Netflix users in Poland in August 2021, offering premium mobile games based on ''Stranger Things'' including '' Stranger Things 3: The Game'', for free to subscribers through the Netflix mobile app. Netflix officially launched mobile games on November 2, 2021, for Android users around the world. Through the app, subscribers had free access to five games, including two previously made '' Stranger Things'' titles. Netflix stated that they intend to add more games to this service over time. On November 9, the collection launched for iOS. Verdu said in October 2022 that besides continuing to expand their portfolio of games, they were also interested in cloud gaming options. To support the games effort, Netflix began acquiring and forming a number of studios. The company acquired
Night School Studio Night School Studio, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher founded on June 6, 2014 by Sean Krankel and Adam Hines, and is based in Glendale, California. After the founding of the company, the team started development on their deb ...
, an independent video game developer, in September 2021. They announced plans to acquire Next Games in March 2022 for as part of Netflix's expansions into gaming. Next Games had developed the mobile title ''Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales'' as well as two ''The Walking Dead'' mobile games. Later in the month, Netflix also acquired the Texas-based mobile game developer,
Boss Fight Entertainment Boss Fight Entertainment is an American video game development company based in Allen, Texas, with a second studio based in Austin, Texas. Boss Fight was formed by former Zynga Dallas and Ensemble Studios employees in June 2013. History Boss Fi ...
, for an undisclosed sum. Netflix opened a mobile game studio in Helsinki, Finland in September 2022, and a new studio, their fifth total, in southern California in October 2022, alongside the acquisition of
Spry Fox Spry Fox is a video game producing company headquartered in Seattle, United States, that was founded in 2010 by David Edery and Daniel Cook. The company produced the games '' Triple Town'', a freemium strategy puzzle game with city-building game ...
in Seattle. As of October 2022, the service had 35 games available, and Netflix stated they had more than 55 games in development. By August 2022, Netflix's gaming platform was reported to have an average 1.7 million users a day, less than 1% of the streaming service's subscribers at the time.


Technology


Content delivery

Netflix settlement freely peers with Internet service providers (ISPs) directly and at common Internet exchange points. In June 2012, a custom content delivery network, Open Connect, was announced. For larger ISPs with over 100,000 subscribers, Netflix offers free ''Netflix Open Connect''
server appliance A computer appliance is a home appliance with software or firmware that is specifically designed to provide a specific computing resource. Such devices became known as ''appliances'' because of the similarity in role or management to a home a ...
s that cache their content within the ISPs' data centers or networks to further reduce Internet transit costs. By August 2016, Netflix closed its last physical data center, but continued to develop its Open Connect technology. A 2016 study at the University of London detected 233 individual Open Connect locations on over six continents, with the largest amount of traffic in the USA, followed by Mexico. As of July 2017, Netflix series and movies accounted for more than a third of all prime-time download Internet traffic in North America.


API

On October 1, 2008, Netflix offered access to its service via a public application programming interface (API). It allowed access to data for all Netflix titles, and allows users to manage their movie queues. The API was free and allowed commercial use. In June 2012, Netflix began to restrict the availability of its public API. They instead focused on a small number of known partners using private interfaces, since most traffic came from those private interfaces. In June 2014, Netflix announced they would be retiring the public API; it became effective November 14, 2014. They then partnered with the developers of eight services deemed the most valuable, including Instant Watcher, Fanhattan, Yidio and Nextguide.


Corporate affairs


Historical financials and membership growth


Corporate culture

Netflix grants all employees extremely broad discretion with respect to business decisions, expenses, and vacation—but in return expects consistently high performance, as enforced by what is known as the "keeper test." This article was written by ''Forbes'' staff and was the ''Forbes'' magazine cover story for the month of publication. All supervisors are expected to constantly ask themselves if they would fight to keep an employee. If the answer is no, then it is time to let that employee go. A slide from an internal presentation on Netflix's corporate culture summed up the test as: "Adequate performance gets a generous severance package." Such packages reportedly range from four months' salary in the United States to as much as six months in the Netherlands. The company offers unlimited vacation time for salaried workers and allows employees to take any amount of their paychecks in stock options. About the culture that results from applying such a demanding test, Hastings has said that "You gotta earn your job every year at Netflix," and, "There's no question it's a tough place...There's no question it's not for everyone." Hastings has drawn an analogy to
athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...
: professional athletes lack long-term job security because an injury could end their career in any particular game, but they learn to put aside their fear of that constant risk and focus on working with great colleagues in the current moment.


Environmental impact

In March 2021, Netflix announced that it would work to reach
net zero Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the " ...
greenhouse gas emissions by the end of 2022, while investing in programs to preserve or restore ecosystems. The company stated that it would cut emissions from its operations and electricity use by 45 percent by 2030. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
and lack of content production, Netflix had a 14 percent drop in emissions in 2020. In 2021, Netflix bought 1.5 million carbon credits from 17 projects around the world.


Awards

On July 18, 2013, Netflix earned the first Primetime Emmy Award nominations for original online-only web television programs at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards. Three of its web series, ''Arrested Development'', ''Hemlock Grove'' and ''House of Cards'', earned a combined 14 nominations (nine for ''House of Cards'', three for ''Arrested Development'' and two for ''Hemlock Grove''). The ''House of Cards'' episode "
Chapter 1 Chapter One refers to a first chapter in a book. Chapter One or Chapter 1 or Chapter I may also refer to: Albums * ''Chapter One'' (Collage album) (1994) * ''Chapter One'' (Ella Henderson album) (2014) * ''Chapter One'' (John Sykes album) (1998) ...
" received four nominations for both the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards and 65th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, becoming the first webisode of a television series to receive a major Primetime Emmy Award nomination: David Fincher was nominated in the category of Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series. "Chapter 1" joined ''Arrested Development'' " Flight of the Phoenix" and ''Hemlock Grove'' "Children of the Night" as the first webisodes to earn Creative Arts Emmy Award nomination, and with its win for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series, "Chapter 1" became the first webisode to be awarded an Emmy. Fincher's win for Directing for a Drama Series made the episode the first Primetime Emmy-awarded webisode. On December 12, 2013, the network earned six nominations for Golden Globe Awards, including four for ''House of Cards''. Among those nominations was Wright for Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama for her portrayal of Claire Underwood, which she won at the 71st Golden Globe Awards on January 12. With the accolade, Wright became the first actress to win a Golden Globe for an online-only web television series. It also marked Netflix's first major acting award. ''House of Cards'' and ''Orange is the New Black'' also won Peabody Awards in 2013. On July 10, 2014, Netflix received 31 Emmy nominations. Among other nominations, ''House of Cards'' received nominations for Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series and Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series. Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright were nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. ''Orange is the New Black'' was nominated in the comedy categories, earning nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series and Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series. Taylor Schilling, Kate Mulgrew, and Uzo Aduba were respectively nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series (the latter was for Aduba's recurring role in season one, as she was promoted to series regular for the show's second season). Netflix got the largest share of 2016 Emmy award nominations, with 16 major nominations. However, streaming shows only got 24 nominations out of a total of 139, falling significantly behind cable. The 16 Netflix nominees were: ''House of Cards'' with Kevin Spacey, ''A Very Murray Christmas'' with Bill Murray, ''Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'', ''Master of None'', and ''Bloodline''. ''Stranger Things'' received 19 nominations at the 2017 Primetime Emmy Awards, while '' The Crown'' received 13 nominations. In December 2017, Netflix was awarded PETA's Company of the Year for promoting animal rights movies and documentaries like ''
Forks Over Knives ''Forks Over Knives'' is a 2011 American advocacy film and documentary that advocates a low-fat, whole-food, plant-based diet (that excludes all animal products and processed foods) as a way to avoid or reverse several chronic diseases. The film ...
'' and '' What the Health''. At the 90th Academy Awards, held on March 4, 2018, the film '' Icarus'', distributed by Netflix, won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. During his remarks backstage, director and writer Bryan Fogel remarked that Netflix had "single-handedly changed the documentary world." ''Icarus'' had its premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and was bought by Netflix for $5 million, one of the biggest deals ever for a non-fiction film. Netflix became the network whose programs received more nomination at the 2018 Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards with 112 nominations, therefore breaking HBO's 17-years record as a network whose programs received more nomination at the Emmys, which received 108 nominations. On January 22, 2019, films distributed by Netflix scored 15 nominations for the
91st Academy Awards The 91st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2018 and took place on February 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the ceremony, AM ...
, including Academy Award for Best Picture for
Alfonso Cuarón Alfonso Cuarón Orozco ( , ; born 28 November 1961) is a Mexican filmmaker. He is known for directing films in a variety of genres including the family drama ''A Little Princess'' (1995), the romantic drama ''Great Expectations'' (1998), the c ...
's ''
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'', which was nominated for 10 awards. The 15 nominations equal the total nominations films distributed by Netflix had received in previous years. Its increased presence in the Academy Awards has led filmmakers such as Steven Spielberg to speak out against the nomination of streaming content. Netflix acquired Grauman's Egyptian Theatre to host events and screen its films and series. However, there are no plans to roll out full theatrical releases there. In 2020, Netflix received 20 TV nominations and films distributed by Netflix also got 22 film nominations at the 78th Golden Globe Awards. It secured three out of the five nominations for best drama TV series for '' The Crown'', '' Ozark'' and '' Ratched'' and four of the five nominations for best actress in a TV series: Olivia Colman,
Emma Corrin Emma-Louise Corrin (born 13 December 1995) is an English actor. They portrayed Diana, Princess of Wales in the fourth season of the Netflix historical drama '' The Crown'' (2020), for which they won a Golden Globe, a Critics' Choice Award ...
, Laura Linney and Sarah Paulson. Films and programs distributed by Netflix received 30 nominations at the 2021 Screen Actors Guild Awards, more than any other distribution company, where their distributed films and programs won 7 awards including best motion picture for '' The Trial of the Chicago 7'' and best TV drama for '' The Crown''. Films distributed by the company also received 35 nominations at the 93rd Academy Awards, where the films won 7 awards. In February 2022, '' The Power of the Dog'' gritty western distributed by Netflix and directed by Jane Campion, received 12 nominations, including Best Picture, for the 94th annual Academy Awards. Films distributed by the streamer received a total of 72 nominations. Campion became the third female to receive the Best Director award, winning her second Oscar for ''The Power of the Dog''. At the 50th International Emmy Awards in November 2022, Netflix original '' Sex Education'' won Best Comedy Series.


Criticism

Netflix has been subject to criticism from various groups and individuals as its popularity and market reach increased in the 2010s. Customers have complained about price increases in Netflix offerings dating back to the company's decision to separate its DVD rental and streaming services, which was quickly reversed. As Netflix increased its streaming output, it has faced calls to limit accessibility to
graphic content Graphic violence refers to the depiction of especially vivid, brutal and realistic acts of violence in visual media such as film, television, and video games. It may be real, simulated live action, or animated. Intended limitedly for mat ...
and include viewer advisories for issues such as sensationalism and promotion of pseudoscience. Netflix's content has also been criticized by disability rights advocates for lack of captioning quality. Some media organizations and competitors have criticized Netflix for selectively releasing ratings and viewer numbers of its original programming. The company has made claims boasting about viewership records without providing data to substantiate its successes or using problematic estimation methods. In March 2020, some government agencies called for Netflix and other streamers to limit services due to increased broadband and energy consumption as use of the platform increased. In response, the company announced it would reduce bit rates across all streams in Europe, thus decreasing Netflix traffic on European networks by around 25 percent. These same steps were later taken in India. In May 2022, Netflix's shareholder Imperium Irrevocable Trust filed a lawsuit against the company for violating the U.S. securities laws.


See also

* List of streaming media services


References


Further reading

* *


External links

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