Netflix is a freight train seemingly incapable of slowing down. Just last quarter, the online streaming service netted an additional 4.9 million subscribers. Looking ahead, Netflix has no plans to rest on its laurels and will continue to aggressively attack the entrenched TV model that seems to be gradually losing its hold on the masses.
At the heart of Netflix’s plan to take on TV, aside from its affordable monthly rate, is original content. In a relatively short amount of time, Netflix was able to pivot from a company that primarily sent subscribers DVDs to a media powerhouse with an impressive stable of its own original programming. From House of Cards and Daredevil to Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Arrested Development, the value proposition of Netflix’s exclusive content is slowly but surely starting to rival HBO.
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In the months ahead, Netflix is actively preparing to up the ante by doubling down on original programming.
“Daredevil” is the 17th Netflix original series to make its debut this year, representing a bold bet by the company to significantly increase its investment in exclusive programming. Just three years after Netflix started streaming its first original series, “Lilyhammer,” the company is planning 320 hours of original programming in 2015. That is about three times what it offered last year.
Netflix’s obsession with original programming fits in nicely with CEO Reed Hastings’ belief that the traditional TV era is on its way out, soon to be replaced by the Internet.
“We’ve had 80 years of linear TV, and it’s been amazing, and in its day the fax machine was amazing,”Hastings said. “The next 20 years will be this transformation from linear TV to Internet TV.”
And with the number of folks opting out of expensive cable packages in favor or monthly subscription services like Hulu, Netflix, and
