Netflix makes solid start with ‘world drama’
Netflix is best known for its US-originated scripted series. But new funding will allow it to ramp up its investment in dramas from other parts of the world. Here we look at its efforts so far. On Monday, Netflix announced plans to raise US$800m of debt to help finance original content. Its rationale for this is to reach a point where it has 50% original content on the platform, thus reducing its reliance on increasingly expensive rights acquisitions. So far the streamer has made its name with US scripted originals like House of Cards, Orange is the New Black and Stranger Things. But as it builds up its subscriber base around the world, it is also investing in non-US scripted content. It’s not clear how well Netflix’s international investments have done so far – because the company doesn’t release any ratings data. But what we do know is that its international subscriber base is growing rapidly, with an additional 3.2 million non-US customers added in the third quarter of this year. So presumably some of this tranche of funding will be earmarked for more international projects. While it’s not possible to get an accurate picture of how individual Netflix shows perform, there are a few ways of getting a rough idea of a show’s appeal – such as IMDb scores, awards, critical notices and whether it gets recommissioned. So this week we’re taking a look at Netflix’s non-US scripted commissions and trying to formulate a view on whether the company is spending wisely. The Crown: Produced … Continue reading Netflix makes solid start with ‘world drama’
