The origin of Netflix was as a DVD mail service, which gradually made its entry into the world of streaming. It then released its original series on the remake of the House of cards, starring Kevin Spacey. It managed a subscriber base of 30 million.
Since that time, Netflix never had to look back again. It has a constant flow of hits in the form of Narcos and Stranger Things, Orange is the new Black and many more. This eventually pushed its consumer base across 190 countries, with 104 million subscribers. So, it saw a market value of $ 74 billion – far more than 21st Century Fox-owned by Rupert Murdoch.
Moreover, “Bright”, Will Smith’s movie never appeared in the cinemas. The film is based at a time in future when the humans will be in coexistence with the aliens. It was really heartening to hear that the movie was only streamed on Netflix on December 22, 2017.
Technology wise it’s built on React and RxJS by their engineers for every device. Furthermore, the company has emerged as a digital streaming service that is changing the so-called hierarchy and television network of Hollywood. It is part of the on-demand economy and offers entertainment services to subscribers, all over the world. Let us explore “What are the reasons for this stupendous success?”.
What Are The Reasons For The Stupendous Success?
The reasons for which Netflix has emerged as the first video streaming giant have been explained well in the words of Reed Hastings, it’s Chief Executive Officer. He states the reasons as an investment in original programming that has yielded the stunning results for Netflix.
It is also true that the platform is free from the so-called irritating ad breaks and the experimentation that is possible with a strange material, in comparison with the so-called conventional broadcasters.
However, the true reason which draws new viewership for Netflix is due to the breadth of the library. It is the back catalog constituting of the likes of Star Trek, Peep Show and Dexter that keeps us tuning in again and again.
The increase in subscriber base for Netflix was from a paltry 7 million US subscribers to a global consumer base of 93 million people. And this cannot be without proper strategies. It is time now to understand the strategies.
What Are The Strategies Adopted by Netflix?
The strategies adopted by Netflix are:
National Video Streaming Services
Netflix, in its initial years, distributed films through DVDs and by mails. But this was not that successful due to the film rental services.
Next, came the Cable Channels portraying the complex storylines. Since the revenue was generated through advertisers and subscribers, they reached only the niche audiences and not the mass audiences.
In 2000, the compression technology and the advent of high-speed internet service allowed the streaming of video files. This is what led to Netflix change its business model and emerge as the National Video Streaming service provider. So, we saw that the television constituted 70 % of Netflix streaming services.
Subscriber-funded Services
Netflix offers on-demand programming and the viewers can watch “what and when to watch” and not “what’s on”. The task of this portal is to cultivate a library of programs compared to the schedule of the traditional channels.
Netflix adopts a different strategy for increased viewership, in comparison to the cable channels or the broadcast networks, as they sell audiences to the advertisers. The viewers pay a monthly rental for subscribing to the service of Netflix. This needs sufficient programming so as to entice the niche audiences about the services offered.
Conglomerated Niche Strategy
Netflix is said to have developed a conglomerated niche strategy to build its huge subscriber base. It develops programmes for different audience bases. Netflix gathers data based on the patterns of the viewer interests and behaviors and creates desirable content in the form of micro-genres.
Conclusion
Netflix can be termed as the first global television network. We are about to see the system upend by 2025 and Netflix will be one of the significant players. In future, they will play the role of providing entertainment to you – making most of the movies that they will be sending to you.
The future of entertainment lies in providing services, that you can enjoy right from the comfort of your home. Netflix does not have lack of competition in this regards in the form of Disney, Paramount, Warner Bros. But, playing in the domain for a long number of years has taught it to catch up at a faster rate, en-cashing the goodwill that it has earned over the years.
Guest Author: Anoop Nain is a Marketing Manager at Enuke Software, a leading mobile app development company specialized in android and iOS app development. He spends most of his time researching on the mobile app development and technology trends like Angular JS, Laravel etc. He focuses on actionable and unique ideas that can be used to grow company business and make a real difference for customers.