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Netflix, Inc. is an American
media company A media conglomerate, media company, media group, or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises, such as music, television, radio, publishing, motion pictures, video games, amusement parks, or ...
founded in 1997 by
Reed Hastings Wilmot Reed Hastings Jr. (born October 8, 1960) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the co-founder and chairman of Netflix, Inc., which provides the Netflix streaming service. Hastings serves on a number of boards and works with various ...
and
Marc Randolph Marc Bernays Randolph (born April 29, 1958) is an American tech entrepreneur, advisor and speaker. He is the co-founder and first CEO of Netflix. A serial entrepreneur who is said to have helped found the U.S. edition of ''Macworld'' magazine and ...
in
Scotts Valley, California Scotts Valley is a small city in Santa Cruz County, California, United States, about south of downtown San Jose and north of the city of Santa Cruz, in the upland slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains. As of the 2020 census, the city populati ...
, and currently based in
Los Gatos, California Los Gatos (; ; ) is an List of municipalities in California, incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population is 33,529 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located in the San Franc ...
, with production offices and stages at the
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
-based
Hollywood studios Hollywood studios may refer to: *Cinema of the United States, collectively referred to as "Hollywood", referring to an area of Los Angeles, California *Universal Studios Hollywood, a production facility and theme park in Hollywood *Disney's Hollywo ...
(formerly old
Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
studios) and the
Albuquerque Studios Netflix Studios - Albuquerque, New Mexico is a film studio located in the Mesa del Sol development of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The premises include twelve sound stages, production offices, and a backlot. Originally known as ABQ Studios, the facili ...
(formerly ABQ studios). It owns and operates an eponymous over-the-top
subscription video on-demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typical static broadcasting ...
service, which showcases acquired and
original programming Original programming (also called originals or original programs, and subcategorized as "original series", "original movies", "original documentaries" and "original specials") is a term used for in-house television show, television, television fi ...
as well as third-party content licensed from other
production companies A production company, production house or production studio is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television show, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and video ...
and distributors. Netflix is also the first
streaming media Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a Computer network, network for playback using a Media player (disambiguation), media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of Network packet, packets from a Server (computing), ...
company to be a member of the
Motion Picture Association The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the Major film studios, five major film studios of the Cinema of the United States, United States, the Major film studios#Mini-majors, mini-major Amazon MGM Stud ...
. 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, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...
. The company expanded to Canada in 2010, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2011, the service began to acquire and produce original content, beginning with the crime drama ''
Lilyhammer ''Lilyhammer'' is a crime comedy-drama television series starring Steven Van Zandt about a former New York–based gangster named Frank "The Fixer" Tagliano trying to start a new life in isolated Lillehammer, Norway. The first season premiered ...
''. The company is ranked 117th on the ''Fortune'' 500 and 219th on the ''Forbes'' Global 2000. It is the second largest entertainment/media company by
market capitalization Market capitalization, sometimes referred to as market cap, is the total value of a publicly traded company's outstanding common shares owned by stockholders. Market capitalization is equal to the market price per common share multiplied by ...
. In 2021, Netflix was ranked as the eighth-most trusted brand globally by
Morning Consult Morning Consult is an American business intelligence company established in 2014. It was valued at more than one billion dollars in June 2021. The company specializes in online survey research technology and has offices in Washington, D.C., New ...
. During the 2010s, Netflix was the top-performing
stock Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the Share (finance), shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporatio ...
in the
S&P 500 The Standard and Poor's 500, or simply the S&P 500, is a stock market index tracking the stock performance of 500 leading companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. It is one of the most commonly followed equity indices and in ...
stock market index In finance, a stock index, or stock market index, is an Index (economics), index that measures the performance of a stock market, or of a subset of a stock market. It helps investors compare current stock price levels with past prices to calcul ...
, with a total return of 3,693%. The company has two CEOs, Greg Peters and
Ted Sarandos Theodore Anthony Sarandos Jr. (born July 30, 1964) is an American business executive who has been the co-chief executive officer of Netflix since 2020. Early life and education Sarandos was born on July 30, 1964, at Monmouth Medical Cente ...
, who are split between Los Gatos and Los Angeles, respectively. It also operates international offices in Asia, Europe and Latin America including in Canada, France, Brazil, the Netherlands, India, Italy, Japan, Poland, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. The company has production hubs in Los Angeles,
Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...
,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
,
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
,
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
and
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
.


History


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

Netflix was founded by
Marc Randolph Marc Bernays Randolph (born April 29, 1958) is an American tech entrepreneur, advisor and speaker. He is the co-founder and first CEO of Netflix. A serial entrepreneur who is said to have helped found the U.S. edition of ''Macworld'' magazine and ...
and
Reed Hastings Wilmot Reed Hastings Jr. (born October 8, 1960) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the co-founder and chairman of Netflix, Inc., which provides the Netflix streaming service. Hastings serves on a number of boards and works with various ...
on August 29, 1997, in
Scotts Valley, California Scotts Valley is a small city in Santa Cruz County, California, United States, about south of downtown San Jose and north of the city of Santa Cruz, in the upland slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains. As of the 2020 census, the city populati ...
. Hastings, a computer scientist and mathematician, was a cofounder of
Pure Software Pure Software was founded in October 1991 by Reed Hastings, Raymond Peck and Mark Box. The original product was a debugging tool for UNIX software applications written in C called Purify (software), Purify. After adding new products such as Qua ...
, which was acquired by
Rational Software 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 n ...
that year for $750 million, the then biggest acquisition in
Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...
history. Randolph had worked as a marketing director for
Pure Software Pure Software was founded in October 1991 by Reed Hastings, Raymond Peck and Mark Box. The original product was a debugging tool for UNIX software applications written in C called Purify (software), Purify. After adding new products such as Qua ...
after Pure Atria acquired a company where Randolph worked. He was previously a co-founder of MicroWarehouse, a computer mail-order company as well as vice president of marketing for
Borland Borland Software Corporation was a computing technology company founded in 1983 by Niels Jensen, Ole Henriksen, Mogens Glad, and Philippe Kahn. Its main business was developing and selling software development and software deployment products. B ...
. Hastings and Randolph came up with the idea for Netflix while
carpool Carpooling is the sharing of Automobile, car journeys so that more than one person travels in a car, and prevents the need for others to have to drive to a location themselves. Carpooling is considered a Demand-Responsive Transport (DRT) serv ...
ing between their homes in
Santa Cruz, California Santa Cruz (Spanish language, Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the largest city and the county seat of Santa Cruz County, California, Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city population ...
, and Pure Atria's headquarters in Sunnyvale. Patty McCord, later head of
human resources Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ' ...
at Netflix, was also in the carpool group. Randolph admired
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
and wanted to find a large category of portable items to sell over the Internet using a similar model. Hastings and Randolph considered and rejected selling and renting
VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...
as too expensive to stock and too delicate to ship. When they heard about DVDs, first introduced in the United States in early 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 launched as the first DVD rental and sales website with 30 employees and 925 titles available—nearly all DVDs published. Randolph and Hastings met with
Jeff Bezos Jeffrey Preston Bezos ( ;; and Robinson (2010), p. 7. ; born January 12, 1964) is an American businessman best known as the founder, executive chairman, and former president and CEO of Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce and clou ...
, where
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
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 The dot-com bubble (or dot-com boom) was a stock market bubble that ballooned during the late-1990s and peaked on Friday, March 10, 2000. This period of market growth coincided with the widespread adoption of the World Wide Web and the Interne ...
, while Netflix was suffering losses, Hastings and Randolph offered to sell the company to Blockbuster for $50 million.
John Antioco John Antioco is an American businessman and currently the chairman of the board of directors at BRIX Holdings LLC and the Managing Partner of JAMCO Interests LLC. Biography John Antioco was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. His father was ...
, 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 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
caused the company to hold off plans for its
initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...
(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. The company went public on
NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...
under the ticker symbol NFLX on May 29, 2002, selling 5.5 million shares of
common stock Common stock is a form of corporate equity ownership, a type of security. The terms voting share and ordinary share are also used frequently outside of the United States. They are known as equity shares or ordinary shares in the UK and other C ...
at US$15.00 per share. In 2003, Netflix was issued a patent by the
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alex ...
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 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 Urban legend (sometimes modern legend, urban myth, or simply legend) is a genre of folklore concerning stories about an unusual (usually scary) or humorous event that many people believe to be true but largely are not. These legends can be e ...
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 A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...
lawsuit in which it demanded a
jury trial A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial, in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are increasingly used ...
in the
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California The United States District Court for the Northern District of California (in case citations, N.D. Cal.) is the federal United States district court whose jurisdiction comprises the following counties of California: Alameda, Contra Costa, De ...
, alleging that Blockbuster's
online DVD rental DVD-by-mail is a business model in which customers order DVDs and similar discs containing films, television shows, video games, and other media to rent, which are then delivery to the customer by mail. Generally, all interaction between the rent ...
subscription program violated two patents held by Netflix. The first
cause of action A cause of action or right of action, in law, is a set of facts sufficient to justify suing to obtain money or property, or to justify the enforcement of a legal right against another party. The term also refers to the legal theory upon which a ...
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 ...
, $1,000,000 to the first developer of a video-recommendation
algorithm In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of Rigour#Mathematics, mathematically rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific Computational problem, problems or to perform a computation. Algo ...
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 LLC (originally Netflix First) was a film production and distribution unit created by Netflix in 2006. The studio produced independent content for the company's DVD-by-mail service. The company produced and/or distribu ...
, 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. The film premiered in the Dramatic Competition at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2006 and received a limited release in the United States on S ...
''. In late 2006,
Red Envelope Entertainment Red Envelope Entertainment LLC (originally Netflix First) was a film production and distribution unit created by Netflix in 2006. The studio produced independent content for the company's DVD-by-mail service. The company produced and/or distribu ...
also expanded into producing original content with filmmakers such as
John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...
. Netflix closed Red Envelope Entertainment in 2008.


Transition to streaming services (2007–2012)

In January 2007, the company launched a
streaming media Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a Computer network, network for playback using a Media player (disambiguation), media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of Network packet, packets from a Server (computing), ...
service, introducing
video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...
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), ''Babel'' (book), by Patti Smith * Babel (2012 manga), ''Babel'' (2012 manga), by Narumi Shigematsu * Babel (20 ...
'' to a customer in Texas. In April 2007, Netflix recruited
ReplayTV ReplayTV was a former DVR company that from 1999 until 2005, produced a brand of digital video recorders (DVR), a term synonymous with ''personal video recorder'' (PVR). It is a consumer video device which allows users to capture television prog ...
founder Anthony Wood, to build a "Netflix Player" that would allow streaming content to be played directly on a television rather than a desktop or laptop. Hastings eventually shut down the project to help encourage other hardware manufacturers to include built-in Netflix support, which would be spun off as the
digital media player A digital media player (also known as a streaming device or streaming box) is a type of consumer electronics device designed for the storage, playback, or viewing of digital media content. They are typically designed to be integrated into a h ...
product
Roku Roku ( ) is a brand of consumer electronics that includes streaming players, smart TVs (and their operating systems), as well as a free TV streaming service. The brand is owned by Roku, Inc., an American company. As of 2024, Roku is the U ...
. 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 Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...
and to
Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
'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 Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) is a subsidiary of Amazon.com, Amazon that provides Software as a service, on-demand cloud computing computing platform, platforms and Application programming interface, APIs to individuals, companies, and gover ...
cloud. In November 2008, Netflix began offering subscribers rentals on
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
and discontinued its sale of used DVDs. In 2009, Netflix streams overtook DVD shipments. On January 6, 2010, Netflix agreed with
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
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 Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
and
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
were reached on April 9. In July 2010, Netflix signed a deal to stream movies of
Relativity Media Relativity Media, LLC is an American independent media company founded in 2004 by Lynwood Spinks and Ryan Kavanaugh. The company brokered film finance deals and later branched into film production and other entertainment ventures. The company ...
. In August 2010, Netflix reached a five-year deal worth nearly $1 billion to stream films from
Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...
,
Lionsgate Lions Gate, Lion Gate or similar terms may refer to: Gates *Lion Gate at Mycenae in Greece *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the ancient Hittite city of Hattusa, now in Turkey *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the gardens of Hampton Court Pala ...
and
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
. 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, Netflix launched in Canada, its first international market. In November 2010, Netflix began offering a standalone streaming service separate from DVD rentals. In 2010, Netflix acquired the rights to ''
Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan for AMC (TV channel), AMC. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Breaking Bad), Walter White (Bryan Cran ...
'', produced by Sony Pictures Television, after the show's third season, at a point where original broadcaster
AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...
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 announced agreements with several manufacturers to include branded Netflix buttons on the
remote control A remote control, also known colloquially as a remote or clicker, is an consumer electronics, electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operat ...
s of devices compatible with the service, such as Blu-ray players. By May 2011, Netflix had become 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. On September 11, 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 September 26, 2011, Netflix announced a content deal with
DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios or simply DreamWorks) is an American animation studio, owned by Comcast's NBCUniversal as part of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios, Inc, Universal Stud ...
. 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 9, 2012, Netflix started its expansion to Europe, launching in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In February 2012, Netflix reached a multi-year agreement with
The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company, LLC (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film production and distribution company, which was founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein on March 10, 2005. TWC was one of the larg ...
. In March 2012, Netflix acquired the
domain name In the Internet, a domain name is a string that identifies a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control. Domain names are often used to identify services provided through the Internet, such as websites, email services, and more. ...
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 The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent agency of the United States government that enforces U.S. campaign finance laws and oversees U.S. federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Campaign ...
(FEC) to form a
political action committee In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The l ...
(PAC) called FLIXPAC. Netflix spokesperson Joris Evers tweeted that the intent was to "engage on issues like
net neutrality Net neutrality, sometimes referred to as network neutrality, is the principle that Internet service providers (ISPs) must treat all Internet communications equally, offering User (computing), users and online content providers consistent tra ...
,
bandwidth cap A data cap, often referred to as a bandwidth cap, is a restriction imposed on data transfer over a network. In particular, it refers to policies imposed by an internet service provider to limit customers' usage of their services; typically, excee ...
s, UBB and
VPPA 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 rental ...
". In June 2012, Netflix signed a deal with
Open Road Films Open Road Films, LLC (formerly known briefly as Global Road Entertainment) is an American independent film production and distribution company based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded by Tom Ortenberg on March 26, 2011, as a joint ven ...
. On August 23, 2012, Netflix and
The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company, LLC (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film production and distribution company, which was founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein on March 10, 2005. TWC was one of the larg ...
signed a multi-year output deal for RADiUS-TWC films. In September 2012,
Epix MGM+ (formerly known as Epix; pronounced ''epics'' and stylized as eᴘix), is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by the MGMPlus Entertainment subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), which is itself a subsidiary ...
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 ''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American Animated film, animated Musical film, musical Fantasy film, fantasy Comedy drama, comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film i ...
'', ''
Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...
'' and ''
Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, also known as Matoaka and Rebecca Rolfe; 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. S ...
'' 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, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...
releases were made available in 2013. On January 14, 2013, Netflix signed an agreement with
Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( doing business as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned by AT&T. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City. It was established as Time Warne ...
's
Turner Broadcasting System Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. was an American television and media conglomerate founded by Ted Turner in 1965. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (later WarnerMedia) on October 10, 1996. As of April 2022, all of its asse ...
and Warner Bros. Television to distribute
Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...
,
Warner Bros. Animation Warner Bros. Animation Inc. (abbreviated as WBA) is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Group, a division of Warner Bros., which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery and serves as the animation divis ...
, and
Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as
dult swim Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representativ ...
and s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...
content, as well as
TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...
's ''
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
'', beginning in March 2013. The rights to these programs were given to Netflix shortly after deals with
Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2005), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Pa ...
to stream
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...
and
Nick Jr. Channel The Nick Jr. Channel, sometimes shortened to Nick Jr., is an American pay television, pay television channel owned by the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. An offshoot of Nickelodeon ...
programs expired. For cost reasons, Netflix stated that it would limit its expansion in 2013, adding only one new market—the Netherlands—in September of that year. This expanded its availability to 40 territories.


Development of original programming (2013–2017)

Netflix began efforts to develop original content in 2011; in March, Netflix made a straight-to-series order for the
Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. Known for Kevin Spacey on screen and stage, his work on stage and screen, he List of awards and nominations received by Kevin Spacey, has received numerous accolades, including two ...
-led political drama ''
House of Cards A house of cards (also known as a card tower or card castle) is a structure created by stacking playing cards on top of each other, often in the shape of a pyramid. "House of cards" is also an expression that dates back to 1645 meaning a struc ...
'' from MRC. Beating out other U.S. cable networks, it marked the first first-run television series to be specifically commissioned by the service. In November 2011, Netflix then ordered ''
Orange is the New Black ''Orange Is the New Black'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''OITNB'') is an American comedy-drama television series created by Jenji Kohan for Netflix. The series is based on Piper Kerman's memoir '' Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Pr ...
'', a comedy-drama adapted from
Piper Kerman Piper Eressea Kerman (born September 28, 1969) is an American author. She was indicted in 1998 on charges of felonious money-laundering activities, and sentenced to 15 months' detention in a federal correctional facility, of which she eventually ...
's memoir of the same name, and a new season of the cancelled Fox sitcom ''
Arrested Development ''Arrested Development'' is an American satire, satirical television sitcom created by Mitchell Hurwitz. It follows the Bluths, a formerly wealthy, dysfunctional family and is presented in a Serial (radio and television), serialized format, inco ...
''. Netflix also acquired U.S. rights to the Norwegian drama ''
Lilyhammer ''Lilyhammer'' is a crime comedy-drama television series starring Steven Van Zandt about a former New York–based gangster named Frank "The Fixer" Tagliano trying to start a new life in isolated Lillehammer, Norway. The first season premiered ...
''; following its television premiere on Norway's
NRK1 NRK1 (pronounced as ''"NRK en"'' or ''"- ein"'') is the main television channel of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK). History Test broadcasts started on 12 January 1954, regular test broadcasts began on 13 April 1958, and regular bro ...
on January 25, 2012, the entirety of its first season was released by Netflix on February 8—a notable departure from the broadcast television model of premiering episodes on a weekly basis. ''House of Cards'' was released by Netflix on February 1, 2013, marketed as the first "Netflix Original" production. Later that month, Netflix announced an agreement with
DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios or simply DreamWorks) is an American animation studio, owned by Comcast's NBCUniversal as part of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios, Inc, Universal Stud ...
to commission children's television series based on its properties, beginning with '' Turbo: F.A.S.T.'', a spin-off of its film ''
Turbo In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (also known as a turbo or a turbosupercharger) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake air, forcing more air into the ...
''. ''Orange is the New Black'' would premiere in July 2013; Netflix stated that ''Orange is the New Black'' had been its most-watched original series so far, with all of them having "an audience comparable with successful shows on cable and broadcast TV." 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 rental ...
was modified in early 2013. On August 1, 2013, Netflix reintroduced the "Profiles" feature that permits accounts to accommodate up to five user profiles. In November 2013,
Marvel Television Marvel Television was an American television production company responsible for live-action and animated television shows and direct-to-DVD series based on characters from Marvel Comics. Marvel Television was formed as a division of Marvel En ...
and
ABC Studios ABC Signature was a production arm of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), which is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a sub-division of the Disney Entertainment business segment and division of The Walt Disney Company. The studio's ...
announced Netflix had ordered a slate of four television series based on the
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
characters Daredevil,
Jessica Jones Jessica Campbell Jones-Cage, professionally known as Jessica Jones, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos and first appea ...
, Iron Fist and
Luke Cage Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, Roy Thomas, and John Romita Sr. in 1972, he was the first Af ...
. Each of the four series received an initial order of 13 episodes, and Netflix also ordered a
Defenders Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to: * Defense (military) * Defense (sports) ** Defender (association football) Arts and entertainment Film, television, and theatre Film * ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary * ''The D ...
miniseries that would tie them together. ''Daredevil'' and ''Jessica Jones'' premiered in 2015. The ''
Luke Cage Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, Roy Thomas, and John Romita Sr. in 1972, he was the first Af ...
'' series premiered on September 30, 2016, followed by '' Iron Fist'' on March 17, 2017, and '' The Defenders'' on August 18, 2017. Marvel owner
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
later entered into other content agreements with Netflix, including acquiring its animated ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
'' series '' Star Wars: The Clone Wars'', and a new sixth season. In February 2014, Netflix began to enter into agreements with U.S. internet service providers, beginning with
Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...
(whose customers had repeatedly complained of frequent buffering when streaming Netflix), to provide the service a direct connection to their networks. In April 2014, Netflix signed ''
Arrested Development ''Arrested Development'' is an American satire, satirical television sitcom created by Mitchell Hurwitz. It follows the Bluths, a formerly wealthy, dysfunctional family and is presented in a Serial (radio and television), serialized format, inco ...
'' creator
Mitchell Hurwitz Mitchell Donald "Mitch" Hurwitz (born May 29, 1963) is an American television writer, producer, and actor. He is best known as the creator of the television sitcom ''Arrested Development'' as well as the co-creator of '' The Ellen Show''. He is ...
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 Sony Pictures Animation Inc. (also referred to as Sony Animation Studios and abbreviated to SPA) is an American animation studio owned by Sony Entertainment's Sony Pictures Entertainment through their Motion Picture Group division and found ...
. It also quietly began to introduce an updated logo, with a flatter appearance and updated typography. In September 2014, Netflix expanded into six new European markets, including Austria, Belgium, France, Germany,
Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...
, and Switzerland. On September 10, 2014, Netflix participated in
Internet Slowdown Day Internet Slowdown Day, part of the "Battle for the Net" initiative, was a series of protests against the repeal of net neutrality laws coordinated by websites and advocacy groups in the United States occurring on September 10, 2014. The official s ...
by deliberately slowing down its speed in support of
net neutrality Net neutrality, sometimes referred to as network neutrality, is the principle that Internet service providers (ISPs) must treat all Internet communications equally, offering User (computing), users and online content providers consistent tra ...
regulations in the United States. In October 2014, Netflix announced a four-film deal with
Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. Primarily a comedic leading actor in films, List of awards and nominations received by Adam Sandler, his accolades include an Independent Sp ...
and his
Happy Madison Productions Happy Madison Productions, Inc. is an American independent film and television production company founded in 1999 by Adam Sandler, which is best known for its comedy films. Happy Madison takes its name from the films ''Happy Gilmore'' and '' Bill ...
. In April 2015, following the launch of '' Daredevil'', Netflix director of content operations Tracy Wright announced that Netflix had added support for
audio description Audio description (AD), also referred to as a video description, described video, or visual description, is a form of narration used to provide information surrounding key visual elements in a media work (such as a film or television program, or ...
(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 A screen reader is a form of assistive technology (AT) that renders text and image content as speech or braille output. Screen readers are essential to blindness, blind people, and are useful to visually impaired people, Illiteracy, illiterate, ...
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
Consumer Electronics Show CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...
, 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 Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...
and
Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...
. 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 Online advertising, also known as online marketing, Internet advertising, digital advertising or web advertising, is a form of marketing and advertising that uses the Internet to promote products and services to audiences and platform users. ...
, unlike competitors. On November 30, 2016, Netflix launched an offline playback feature, allowing users of the Netflix mobile apps on
Android Android most commonly refers to: *Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), a mobile operating system primarily developed by Google * Android TV, a operating system developed ...
or
iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...
to
cache Cache, caching, or caché may refer to: Science and technology * Cache (computing), a technique used in computer storage for easier data access * Cache (biology) or hoarding, a food storing behavior of animals * Cache (archaeology), artifacts p ...
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 April 2016, Hastings stated that the company planned to expand its in-house, Los Angeles-based Netflix Studios to grow its output; Hastings ruled out any potential acquisitions of existing studios, stating that "It's been 15 years we've been public and 20 years existing, and we've done no ergers and acquisitions So I think that probably speaks for itself." In February 2017, Netflix signed a
music publishing A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers began to play a role in the management of the intellectua ...
deal with
BMG Rights Management BMG Rights Management GmbH (also known simply as BMG) is an international music company based in Berlin, Germany. It combines the activities of a music publisher and a record label. BMG was formed in October 2008 after Bertelsmann sold its st ...
, 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 iQIYI (, pronounced in English as ), formerly Qiyi (), is a Chinese subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Baidu. Headquartered in Beijing, iQIYI primarily produces and distributes films and television series. i ...
, a Chinese video streaming platform owned by
Baidu Baidu, Inc. ( ; ) is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in Internet services and artificial intelligence. It holds a dominant position in China's search engine market (via Baidu Search), and provides a wide variety of o ...
, to allow selected Netflix original content to be distributed in China on the platform. On August 7, 2017, Netflix acquired
Millarworld Millarworld Limited is an imprint of comic books published by Scottish comic book writer Mark Millar as a creator-owned line, featuring characters created by him in a shared fictional universe, the Millarworld, or Millarverse. These characters ...
, the creator-owned publishing company of comic book writer
Mark Millar Mark Millar (; born 24 December 1969) is a Scottish comic book writer who first came to prominence with a run on the superhero series ''The Authority (comics), The Authority'', published by DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint. Millar has written ext ...
. The purchase marked the first corporate acquisition to have been made by Netflix. On August 14, 2017, Netflix entered into an exclusive development deal with
Shonda Rhimes Shonda Lynn Rhimes (born January 13, 1970) is an American television producer and screenwriter, and founder of the production company Shondaland. Inducted into the Television Hall of Fame and NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame, Rhimes became known ...
and her production company
Shondaland Shondaland (stylized as ShondaLand from 2005 to 2016 and shondaland thereafter) is an American television production company founded by television writer and producer Shonda Rhimes. She founded it to be one of the production companies of her fir ...
. 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
Mélanie Joly Mélanie Joly (; born January 16, 1979) is a Canadian politician and lawyer who has been serving as the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Minister of Industry, Registrar General of Canada, and Minister responsible for the Economic D ...
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 Tax break also known as tax preferences, tax concession, and tax relief, are a method of reduction to the tax liability of taxpayers. Government usually applies them to stimulate the economy and increase the solvency of the population. By this f ...
. 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 is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
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 through a variety of techniques including manual reviewing, audio tagging, and
machine learning Machine learning (ML) is a field of study in artificial intelligence concerned with the development and study of Computational statistics, statistical algorithms that can learn from data and generalise to unseen data, and thus perform Task ( ...
. In November 2017, Netflix signed an exclusive multi-year deal with ''Orange Is the New Black'' creator
Jenji Kohan Jenji Leslie Kohan (born July 5, 1969) is an American television writer and producer. She is best known as the creator and showrunner of the Showtime comedy-drama series ''Weeds'' and the Netflix comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black''. S ...
. In November 2017, Netflix withdrew from co-hosting a party at the
75th Golden Globe Awards The 75th Golden Globe Awards honored film and American television of 2017, and was broadcast live on January 7, 2018, from The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California beginning at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time Zone, PST / 8:00 p.m. Easter ...
with
The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company, LLC (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film production and distribution company, which was founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein on March 10, 2005. TWC was one of the larg ...
due to the
Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse cases In October 2017, ''The New York Times'' and ''The New Yorker'' reported that dozens of women had accused the American film producer Harvey Weinstein of rape, sexual assault and sexual abuse over a period of at least 30 years. Over 80 women i ...
.


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 Ciro Guerra (born 6 February 1981) is a Colombian film director and screenwriter. He is best known for his 2015 film ''Embrace of the Serpent'', which was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards, and for '' The Wind ...
. In December 2017, Netflix signed ''Stranger Things'' director-producer
Shawn Levy Shawn Adam Levy (; born July 23, 1968) is a Canadian and American filmmaker and actor. He is the founder of 21 Laps Entertainment. His work has spanned numerous genres, and his films as a director have grossed a collective $3.5 billion worldwid ...
and his production company
21 Laps Entertainment 21 Laps, Inc., doing business as 21 Laps Entertainment, is an American film and television production company founded and run by filmmaker Shawn Levy. The company is best known as the producers of ''Stranger Things'', and exclusively distributes ...
to what sources say is a four-year deal. In 2017, Netflix invested in distributing exclusive stand-up comedy specials from
Dave Chappelle David Khari Webber Chappelle ( ; born August 24, 1973) is an American stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and actor. He starred in and co-created the satirical comedy sketch series ''Chappelle's Show'' (2003–2006) before quitting in the middle ...
,
Louis C.K. Louis Alfred Székely (; born September 12, 1967), known professionally as Louis C.K. (), is an American stand-up comedian, actor and filmmaker. C.K. has won three Peabody Awards, three Grammy Awards, six Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Screen Act ...
,
Chris Rock Christopher Julius Rock (born February 7, 1965) is an American comedian, actor, and filmmaker. He first gained prominence for his stand-up routines in the 1980s in which he tackled subjects including race relations, human sexuality, and obse ...
,
Jim Gaffigan James Christopher Gaffigan (born July 7, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. His material often addresses fatherhood, laziness, food, religion, and general observations. He is regarded as a "clean" comic, using l ...
,
Bill Burr {{Infobox comedian , image = Bill Burr by Gage Skidmore.jpg , alt = , caption = Burr in 2018 , birth_name = William Frederic Burr , birth_date = {{birth date and age, 1968, 6, 10 , bi ...
and
Jerry Seinfeld Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. As a stand-up comedian, Seinfeld specializes in observational comedy. Seinfeld gained stardom playing a semi-fictionalized version ...
. 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. Abrams and Lindsey Weber. It is the third film in the ...
'' from
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
for $50 million and launched on its service on February 4, 2018, shortly after airing its first trailer during
Super Bowl LII Super Bowl LII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2017 season. As a rematch of Super Bowl XXXIX from 13 years earlier, the game was between the National Football Conferen ...
. 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 energy a ...
'' and Universal's ''
News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national "Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top" Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling ...
'' and worldwide distribution of Universal's ''
Extinction Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
'', 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 Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
world championship. In March 2018,
Sky UK Sky UK Limited (formerly British Sky Broadcasting Limited (BSkyB)), Trade name, trading as Sky, is a British broadcasting, broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television, broadband internet, fixed line and mobile telephone ...
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 The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
, 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 teenage girl who raised a genetically modified "super pig" (the titular Ok ...
'' 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, studio logo, vanity card, vanity plate, or vanity logo is a logo used by Film studio, movie studios and television production company, production companies to brand what they produce and to determine the production company an ...
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 Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, attitudes, and habits of the individuals in these grou ...
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 The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
, 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 Darkness is the condition resulting from a lack of illumination, or an absence of visible light. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low luminance because the hue-sensitive photoreceptor cells on the retina are ...
'' from Germany, ''
Ingobernable ''Ingobernable'' is a Mexican political drama 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 fictional Pr ...
'' from Mexico and '' 3%'' from Brazil. On May 22, 2018, former president,
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
, and his wife,
Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama ( Robinson; born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, being married to Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United Stat ...
, signed a deal to produce docu-series, documentaries and features for Netflix under the Obamas' newly formed production company,
Higher Ground Productions Higher Ground Productions, also known simply as Higher Ground, is an American production company which was founded in 2018 by former United States President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama. History In May 2018, the Obamas lau ...
. In June 2018, Netflix announced a partnership with
Telltale Games Telltale Incorporated (trade name: Telltale Games) was an American video game developer based in San Rafael, California. The company was founded in July 2004 by former LucasArts developers Kevin Bruner, Dan Connors and Troy Molander, following ...
to port its
adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story, driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based m ...
s 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 Harlan Coben (born January 4, 1962) is an American writer of mystery novels and thrillers. The plots of his novels often involve the resurfacing of unresolved or misinterpreted events in the past, murders, or fatal accidents and have multiple ...
. On the same day, the company inked an overall deal with ''
Gravity Falls ''Gravity Falls'' is an American Mystery fiction, mystery television comedy, comedy animated television series created by Alex Hirsch for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series follows the adventures of Dipper Pines (Jason Ritter) and his twi ...
'' creator
Alex Hirsch Alexander Robert Hirsch (born June 18, 1985) is an American animator, writer, producer, and voice actor. He is best known as the creator of the Disney Channel and Disney XD animated series ''Gravity Falls'', for which he voices its characters G ...
. In October 2018, Netflix paid under $30 million to acquire
Albuquerque Studios Netflix Studios - Albuquerque, New Mexico is a film studio located in the Mesa del Sol development of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The premises include twelve sound stages, production offices, and a backlot. Originally known as ABQ Studios, the facili ...
(ABQ Studios), a $91 million film and TV production facility with eight sound stages in
Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...
,
New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
, 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 Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
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 AwesomenessTV Holdings, LLC, often shortened to Awesomeness, is an American digital media and entertainment network company owned by Paramount Global. Established in July 2012 by Brian Robbins and Joe Davola, the company operated a network init ...
'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 lo ...
'' 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 (which o ...
on a television documentary chronicling Michael Jordan and the
1997–98 Chicago Bulls season The 1997–98 NBA season was the 32nd season for the Chicago Bulls in the National Basketball Association. The Bulls entered the regular season as the two-time defending NBA champions, and in the Finals, they met the Utah Jazz in a rematch from t ...
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 ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
. In January 2019, ''
Sex Education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual activity, sexual reproduction, safe sex, birth ...
'' 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 The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the Major film studios, five major film studios of the Cinema of the United States, United States, the Major film studios#Mini-majors, mini-major Amazon MGM Stud ...
(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 Intrepid Pictures is an American independent film and television production company dedicated to producing elevated commercial content for global mainstream audiences. It was founded in 2004 by Trevor Macy and Marc D. Evans, and is currently run ...
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 Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, manga and Artist's book, art book publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon, by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, O ...
. In July 2019, Netflix announced that it would be opening a hub at
Shepperton Studios Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of Pinewood Group, the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not ...
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 a ...
. In early-August 2019, Netflix negotiated an exclusive multi-year film and television deal with ''
Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...
'' creators and showrunners
David Benioff David Friedman (; born September 25, 1970), known professionally as David Benioff (), is an American novelist, screenwriter, and producer. Along with his collaborator D. B. Weiss, he is best known for co-creating ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–201 ...
and D.B. Weiss. The first Netflix production created by Benioff and Weiss was planned as an adaptation of
Liu Cixin Liu Cixin (, pronounced ; born 23 June 1963) is a Chinese computer engineer and science fiction writer. In English translations of his works, his name is given as Cixin Liu. He is sometimes called "''Da'' Liu" ("Big Liu") by his fellow sc ...
'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 novel 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 (novel), The Three- ...
'' trilogy. On September 30, 2019, in addition to renewing ''Stranger Things'' for a fourth season, Netflix signed
The Duffer Brothers Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer (born February 15, 1984), often credited as the Duffer Brothers, are both American television writers, directors, and producers. The brothers are identical twins and work on all their projects as a pair. They are best ...
to an
overall deal A production company, production house or production studio is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and video. These groups ...
covering future film and television projects for the service. On November 13, 2019, Netflix and
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...
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 ''Invader Zim'' is an American animated science fiction horror comedy television series created by comic book writer and cartoonist Jhonen Vasquez for Nickelodeon. The series centers on the titular character Zim (voiced by Richard Steven Ho ...
'' and ''
Rocko's Modern Life ''Rocko's Modern Life'' is an American Television comedy, comedy animated television series created by Joe Murray (animator), Joe Murray for Nickelodeon. The series centers on the surreal life of an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic Australian ...
'' ('' 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 Squidward Quincy Tentacles (, ) is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants.'' Created and designed by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg, he is voiced by actor Rodger Bumpass. ...
from the animated television series ''
SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' is an American animated television series, animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It first aired as a sneak peek after the 1999 Kids' C ...
'', and films based on ''
The Loud House ''The Loud House'' is an American animated sitcom created by Chris Savino that premiered on Nickelodeon on May 2, 2016. The series revolves around the chaotic everyday life of a boy named Lincoln Loud, who is the middle child and only son in a ...
'' and ''
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American animated television series developed by Ant Ward and Andy Suriano for Nickelodeon. Based on the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, it is a re-im ...
''. The agreement with Disney ended in 2019 due to the launch of
Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
, with its Marvel productions moving exclusively to the service in 2022. In November 2019, Netflix announced that 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 is a Japanese manga storywriter, novelist and screenwriter. Under the name Yuma Ando, he received the 2003 Kodansha Manga Award for '' shōnen'' for writing ''Kunimitsu no Matsuri''. The pen name "Tadashi Agi" (亜樹 直) is shared with his si ...
, mangaka Yasuo Ohtagaki, novelist and film director
Otsuichi is the pen name of is a Japanese writer and filmmaker. He is a member of the Mystery Writers of Japan and the Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan. He made his debut with ''Summer, Fireworks and My Corpse'' while still in high school. Major wo ...
, novelist
Tow Ubukata is the pen name of , a Japanese novelist, mangaka and anime screenwriter who primarily writes fantasy and science fiction. His major works include '' Mardock Scramble'', ''Le Chevalier D'Eon'' and '' Heroic Age''. He also did series composition ...
, and manga creator
Mari Yamazaki is a Japanese manga artist known for her seinen comedy manga '' Thermae Romae''. She was born in Tokyo, buspent many years in Italy and now lives in ChicagoViacomCBS Paramount Global (Trade name, d/b/a Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate controlled by National Amusements and Headquarters, headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Times Square, ...
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 film and television producer, 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 ...
's
Chernin Entertainment Chernin Entertainment is an American film and television production company owned by The North Road Company that is based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on February 24, 2009 by producer and former media executive Peter Chernin, who is ...
made a multi-year
first-look deal A first-look deal is any contract containing a clause granting, usually for a fee or other consideration that covers a specified period of time, a pre-emption right, right of first refusal, or right of first offer (also called a right of first neg ...
with Netflix to make films. On May 29, 2020, Netflix announced the acquisition of
Grauman's Egyptian Theatre Grauman's Egyptian Theatre, also known as Egyptian Hollywood and the Egyptian, is a historic movie theater located on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Opened in 1922, it is an early example of a lavish movie palace ...
from the
American Cinematheque The American Cinematheque is an independent, non-profit cultural organization in Los Angeles, California, United States that represents the public presentation of the moving image in all its forms. It presents festivals and retrospectives that ...
to use as a special events venue. In July 2020, Netflix appointed Sarandos as co-CEO. In July 2020, Netflix invested in ''
Black Mirror ''Black Mirror'' is a British anthology series, anthology television series created by Charlie Brooker. Most episodes are set in near-future dystopias containing Science fiction, sci-fi technology—a type of speculative fiction. The series i ...
'' creators
Charlie Brooker Charlton ‘Charlie’ Brooker (born 3 March 1971) is an English screenwriter, producer, presenter, author, cartoonist, and social critic. He first became known for creating and presenting satirical television shows that featured biting criticis ...
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 ...
' new production outfit Broke And Bones.


Expansion into gaming, end of DVDs (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 Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...
announced an agreement for Netflix to hold the U.S. pay television window rights to its releases beginning in 2022, replacing
Starz Starz (stylized in all caps as STARZ; pronounced "stars") is an American pay television network owned by Starz Entertainment, and is the flagship property of Starz Inc. Launched in 1994 as a multiplex service of what is now Starz Encore, ...
and expanding upon an existing agreement with
Sony Pictures Animation Sony Pictures Animation Inc. (also referred to as Sony Animation Studios and abbreviated to SPA) is an American animation studio owned by Sony Entertainment's Sony Pictures Entertainment through their Motion Picture Group division and found ...
. The agreement also includes a first-look deal for any future direct-to-streaming films being produced by
Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...
, 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 Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
. The company also announced that it would open an office in Sweden as well as
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
and
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
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 television series developed by Dave Wasson for Netflix based on the 2017 video game '' Cuphead'' by Studio MDHR. Chad and Jared Moldenhauer, the creators of ''Cuphead'', serve as executive ...
'', and '' The Sandman''. In July 2021, Netflix hired
Mike Verdu Michael Verdu (born December 28, 1964) is an American manager and producer and author of computer games. Life Verdu was born on December 28, 1964. His father worked for a trade union, his mother was a dance instructor. Michael visited the Ren ...
, a former executive from
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...
and Facebook, as vice president of game development, along with plans to add video games by 2022. Netflix announced plans to release
mobile games A mobile game is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA to handheld game conso ...
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. Also in September, the company announced The Queen's Ball: A Bridgerton Experience, launching in 2022 in Los Angeles, Chicago, Montreal, and Washington, D.C.. On September 20, 2021, Netflix signed a long-term lease with
Aviva Investors Aviva Investors is an investment 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 sol ...
to operate and expand the
Longcross Studios Longcross Film Studios is a film and television production facility in Longcross, Surrey, approximately west of central London. Built on the site of the Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment, the studio began operations in 2006. Th ...
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 Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime Flying ace, fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies ...
'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 Video game publisher, publisher. It was founded on June 6, 2014 by Sean Krankel and Adam Hines, and it is based in Glendale, California. After the founding of the company, the tea ...
, an independent video game developer, on September 28, 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 ''Stranger Things'' is an American television series created by the Duffer brothers, Duffer Brothers for Netflix. Produced by Monkey Massacre Productions and 21 Laps Entertainment, the Stranger Things season 1, first season was released on N ...
'' titles. Netflix intends to add more games to this service over time. On November 9, the collection launched for
iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...
. 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 Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...
to bring the book club to life via a social series called ''But Have You Read the Book?''.
Uzo Aduba Uzoamaka Nwanneka "Uzo" Aduba () (; born February 10, 1981) is an American actress. She gained wide recognition for her role as Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren on the Netflix original series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019), for which she w ...
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 Scanline VFX is a global visual effects and animation company founded in 1989 in Munich. The studio was led by VFX Supervisor Stephan Trojansky. The company has 7 locations including Munich, Stuttgart, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Montreal, London, a ...
, the visual effects and animation company behind ''
Cowboy Bebop is a 1998 Japanese neo-noir space Western anime television series that aired on TV Tokyo and Wowow from 1998 to 1999. It was created and animated by Sunrise (company), Sunrise, led by a production team of director Shinichirō Watanabe, ...
'' 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 Image Comics is an independent American American comic book, comic book publisher and is the third largest direct market comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry by market share. Its best-known publications include ''Spawn (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 1,500,000 members. Stage 32 links professionals in the entert ...
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 Tudum: A Global Fan Event, also known as Netflix Tudum or Tudum Festival, is a global pop culture event that covers Netflix's original films and television series held annually in São Paulo, Brazil (except from the 2nd to the 4th editions, which ...
", 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 Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...
and his production company
40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, sometimes shortened to 40 Acres, is an American production company founded by filmmakers Spike Lee & Monty Ross in 1979. It has produced all of Lee's films. History The company's name is a reference to forty acre ...
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 Insider trading is the trading of a public company's stock or other securities (such as bonds or stock options) based on material, nonpublic information about the company. In various countries, some kinds of trading based on insider informati ...
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. 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 Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
-based mobile game developer, Boss Fight Entertainment, for an undisclosed sum. Following the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
, Netflix suspended its operations and future projects in Russia. It also announced that it would not comply with a proposed directive by
Roskomnadzor The Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media, abbreviated as ''Roskomnadzor'' (RKN), is the Russian federal executive agency responsible for monitoring, controlling and censoring Russian mass media. ...
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 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 Dodger Stadium is a ballpark in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a ...
. On July 19, 2022, Netflix announced plans to acquire Australian animation studio
Animal Logic Animal Logic (also known as Animal Logic VFX) is an Australian visual effects and computer animation digital studio based at Disney Studios in Sydney, New South Wales in Australia, Vancouver in Canada, and Rideback Ranch in Los Angeles, Califo ...
. On September 5, 2022, Netflix opened an office in
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
, 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 April 7, 1974) is an American screenwriter, actress, director, and producer. Berloff is best known for writing the screenplays for the drama films ''World Trade Center (film), World Trade Center'' and ''Straight Outta Compto ...
and
John Gatins John Gatins (born April 16, 1968) is an American screenwriter, director, and actor. For writing the drama film ''Flight'' (2012), he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Gatins made his directorial feature debut by ...
. On October 11, 2022, Netflix signed up to the
Broadcasters' Audience Research Board Barb Audiences Ltd (formerly Broadcasters Audience Research Board) is a British organisation that compiles audience measurement and television ratings in the United Kingdom. It was created in 1981 to replace two previous systems whereby ITV (T ...
for external measurement of viewership in the UK. On October 12, 2022, Netflix signed to build a production complex at
Fort Monmouth Fort Monmouth is a former installation of the Department of the Army in Monmouth County, New Jersey and the site of a major upcoming Netflix film production campus, alongside a variety of other redevelopment. The site is surrounded by the commun ...
in
Eatontown, New Jersey Eatontown is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 13,597, an increase of 888 (+7.0%) from the 2010 Uni ...
. On October 18, 2022, Netflix began exploring a cloud gaming offering and opened a new gaming studio in Southern California. On January 10, 2023, Netflix announced plans to open an engineering hub in its Warsaw office. The hub is to provide Netflix's creative partners with software solutions in the production of films and series. On April 18, 2023, Netflix announced that it would discontinue their
DVD-by-mail DVD-by-mail is a business model in which customers order DVDs and similar discs containing films, television shows, video games, and other media to rent, which are then delivery to the customer by mail. Generally, all interaction between the ren ...
service on September 29. Netflix reworked its viewership metrics again in June 2023. Viewership of shows were measured during the first 91 days of availability, instead of the first 28 days, and now are based on the total viewership hours divided by the total hours of the show itself. This provided more equal considerations for shorter shows and movies compared to longer ones. In August 2023, the company announced Netflix Stories, a collection of interactive narrative games from Netflix series and films such as '' Love is Blind'', ''
Money Heist ''Money Heist'' (, , ) is a Spanish heist crime drama television series created by Álex Pina. The series traces two long-prepared heists led by the Professor ( Álvaro Morte), one on the Royal Mint of Spain, and one on the Bank of Spain, ...
'' and ''
Virgin River The Virgin River is a tributary of the Colorado River in the U.S. states of Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. The river is about long.Calculated with Google Maps and Google Earth It was designated Utah's first wild and scenic river in 2009, during the ...
''. Netflix discontinued its DVD mailing service as planned on September 29, 2023, in favor of its streaming business. Users of the service were able to keep the DVDs that they had received. Over its lifetime the service had sent out over 5 billion shipments. In October 2023, Eunice Kim was promoted to Chief Product Officer and Elizabeth Stone was promoted to Chief Technology Officer. That same month, Netflix and
Skydance Media Skydance Media, LLC, also known as Skydance Productions, is an American entertainment company, media production company, production and finance company based in Santa Monica, California. Founded by David Ellison in 2006, the company specializes i ...
entered multi-year pact to develop and produce animated films, ending Skydance's partnership with Apple. First up for release under the deal is '' Spellbound'', which is scheduled to premiere in 2024. Netflix would also take over distribution of preexisting
Skydance Animation Skydance Animation, LLC, is an American animation studio that is a division of Skydance Media, founded on March 16, 2017. The studio is based in Los Angeles, with offices in East Hartford, Connecticut, and Madrid, Spain; the Madrid branch was or ...
titles, including ''
Ray Gunn Philip Bradley Bird (born September 24, 1957) is an American filmmaker, animator, and voice actor. He has had a career spanning over four decades in both animation and live-action. Bird was born in Montana and grew up in Oregon. He developed an ...
'' and ''
Pookoo Nathan Greno (born March 22, 1975) is an American film director, story artist, and writer best known as the co-director of Walt Disney Animation Studios' film, ''Tangled'' (2010). Inspired by Disney films since the first grade, Greno started as ...
''. In April 2024, Netflix announced that starting in 2025, it would stop regularly reporting subscriber numbers. In November 2024, Netflix offices in Paris and Amsterdam have been raided by the French and Dutch authorities as part of an investigation into tax fraud. The company is also under investigation for tax filings for 2019, 2020 and 2021. The service began venturing into live sports broadcasting with the
Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson was a heavyweight professional boxing match between YouTuber and professional boxer Jake Paul and former Undisputed championship (boxing), undisputed heavyweight world champion Mike Tyson. The bout took place on Novembe ...
boxing match in November 2024, followed by a pair of
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
games on Christmas Day. On January 6, 2025, Netflix would become the new home for the ''
WWE Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It currently airs Live television, live every Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Netflix. The show fe ...
'' franchise which had spent more than 30 years on cable.


Corporate affairs


Historical financials and membership growth


Ownership

Netflix is mainly owned by institutional investors, who own around 85% of shares held. The 10 largest shareholder of Netflix in December 2023 were: *
The Vanguard Group The Vanguard Group, Inc. is an American registered investment adviser founded on May 1, 1975, and based in Malvern, Pennsylvania, with about $10.4 trillion in global assets under management as of 31 January 2025. It is the largest provide ...
(8.42%) *
BlackRock BlackRock, Inc. is an American Multinational corporation, multinational investment company. Founded in 1988, initially as an enterprise risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager ...
(7.14%) *
Fidelity Investments Fidelity Investments, formerly known as Fidelity Management & Research (FMR), owned by FMR LLC and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, provides financial services. Established in 1946, the company is one of the largest asset managers in the ...
(5.07%) *
State Street Corporation State Street Corporation is an American global financial services and bank holding company headquartered at One Congress Street in Boston with operations worldwide. The company is named after State Street in Boston, which was known as the "Gr ...
(3.87%) * T. Rowe Price (2.73%) *
Capital World Investors Capital Group is an American investment management company. It ranks among the world's oldest and largest investment management organizations, with over $2.6 trillion in assets under management. Founded in Los Angeles, California in 1931, it is ...
(2.71%) *
JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. (stylized as JPMorganChase) is an American multinational financial services, finance corporation headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. It is List of largest banks in the United States, the largest ba ...
(2.15%) * Capital International Investors (2.05%) *
Geode Capital Management Geode Capital Management, LLC (Geode) is an American investment management firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. History Geode was originally set up by Fidelity Investments in 2001 to run systematic long/short equity strategies and to incubate ne ...
(1.99%) * Capital Research Global Investors (1.58%)


Board of directors

As of November 2024, the company's
board Board or Boards may refer to: Flat surface * Lumber, or other rigid material, milled or sawn flat ** Plank (wood) ** Cutting board ** Sounding board, of a musical instrument * Cardboard (paper product) * Paperboard * Fiberboard ** Hardboard, a ...
consisted of the following directors: *
Rich Barton Richard Barton (born June 2, 1967) is an American internet entrepreneur who is the co-executive chairman and a former two-time chief executive officer of Zillow Group, a company he co-founded in 2006. Barton founded online travel company (and ...
(co-founder of
Zillow Zillow Group, Inc., or simply Zillow, is an American tech real-estate marketplace company that was founded in 2006 by co-executive chairmen Rich Barton and Lloyd Frink, former Microsoft executives and founders of Microsoft spin-off Expedia; Spen ...
) *
Mathias Döpfner Mathias Döpfner (born 15 January 1963) is a German businessman, author, art collector, and journalist. He is the CEO and 22% owner of media group Axel Springer SE. From 2016 to 2022 he was president of the Federal Association of Digital Publish ...
(CEO of
Axel Springer SE Axel Springer SE () is a European multinational corporation, multinational mass media, mass and online media company, based in Berlin, Germany. The company offers printing and publishing of advertisements, digital classifieds portfolio, marketi ...
) * Timothy M. Haley (co-founder of
Redpoint Ventures Redpoint Ventures is an American venture capital firm focused on investments in seed, early and growth-stage companies. History The firm was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, with offices in San Francisco, Los Angel ...
) *
Reed Hastings Wilmot Reed Hastings Jr. (born October 8, 1960) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the co-founder and chairman of Netflix, Inc., which provides the Netflix streaming service. Hastings serves on a number of boards and works with various ...
(co-founder and executive chairman of Netflix) * Jay Hoag (founding partner at TCV) * Leslie Kilgore (former Chief Marketing Officer of Netlix) *
Strive Masiyiwa Strive Masiyiwa (born 29 January 1961) is a London-based Zimbabwean billionaire businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder and executive chairman of international technology groups Econet Global and Cassava Technologies. Masiyiwa has p ...
(Chairman and founder of
Econet Econet was Acorn Computers's low-cost local area network system, based on a Carrier-sense multiple access with collision detection, CSMA-CD serial protocol carried over a five-wire Bus (computing), data bus, intended for use by schools and sm ...
) *
Ann Mather Ann Mather (born 10 April 1960) is an English business executive. She is on the boards of directors of Netflix, Bumble, Aible and Blend. Her prior board experience includes Alphabet, Airbnb, Arista Networks, MGM Studios and Zappos. Mather was ...
(former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of
Pixar Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...
) * Greg Peters (co-CEO of Netflix) *
Susan Rice Susan Elizabeth Rice (born November 17, 1964) is an American diplomat, policy advisor, and public official. As a member of the Democratic Party, Rice served as the 22nd director of the United States Domestic Policy Council from 2021 to 2023, a ...
(former
US National Security Advisor The assistant to the president for national security affairs (APNSA), commonly referred to as the national security advisor (NSA),The National Security Advisor and Staff: p. 1. is a senior aide in the Executive Office of the President, based at t ...
and
ambassador to the United Nations An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...
) *
Ted Sarandos Theodore Anthony Sarandos Jr. (born July 30, 1964) is an American business executive who has been the co-chief executive officer of Netflix since 2020. Early life and education Sarandos was born on July 30, 1964, at Monmouth Medical Cente ...
(co-CEO of Netflix) * Brad Smith (vice chairman of
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
) *
Anne Sweeney Anne Marie Sweeney (born November 4, 1957) is an American businesswoman. she serves as a member of the board of directors at Netflix. She was formerly the co-chair of Disney Media Networks and President of the Disney–ABC Television Group, and ...
(former President of the
Disney–ABC Television Group Disney General Entertainment Content (DGEC), formerly ABC Group, Disney–ABC Television Group and the second incarnation of Walt Disney Television, is a division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company that ove ...
)


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 Slide or Slides may refer to: Places * Slide, California, former name of Fortuna, California Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Slide'' (Lisa Germano album), 1998 * ''Slide'' (George Clanton album), 2018 *''Slide'', by Patrick Glee ...
from an internal presentation on Netflix's corporate culture summed up the test as: "Adequate performance gets a generous
severance package A severance package is pay and benefits that employees may be entitled to receive when they leave employment at a company unwilfully. In addition to their remaining regular pay, it may include some of the following: * Any additional payment based ...
." 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), competitio ...
: professional athletes lack long-term
job security Job security is the probability that an individual will keep their job; a job with a high level of security is such that a person with the job would have a small chance of losing it. Many factors threaten job security: globalization, outsourcing ...
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

According to a study conducted by the
International Energy Agency The International Energy Agency (IEA) is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization, established in 1974, that provides policy recommendations, analysis and data on the global energy sector. The 31 member countries and 13 associatio ...
, streaming a 30-minute show on Netflix in 2019 released around 0.018 kg CO2. In March 2021, Netflix announced that it would work to reach
net zero Global net-zero emissions is reached when greenhouse gas emissions and removals due to human activities are in balance. It is often called simply net zero. ''Emissions'' can refer to all greenhouse gases or only carbon dioxide (). Reaching net ze ...
greenhouse gas emissions by the end of 2022, while investing in programs to preserve or restore
ecosystems An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...
. 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 and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
and lack of content production, Netflix had a 14 percent drop in emissions in 2020.


References


Further reading

* *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Netflix Major film studios 1997 establishments in California 2002 initial public offerings American companies established in 1997 Companies based in Santa Clara County, California Conglomerate companies established in 1997 Conglomerate companies of the United States Entertainment companies based in California Entertainment companies established in 1997 Mass media companies established in 1997 Mass media companies of the United States Multinational companies headquartered in the United States