Netflix bullish on original content http://t.co/H4CNtw1i Interesting take on Netflix’ original programming – four series so far.
Sorry about the Variety Paywall if you run into it.
What’s particularly telling is that these original series are not some “alternate” programming: they’re coming from the same producers as would otherwise supply networks or cable channels. It makes my point that the networks/cablers don’t have a lock on the future and the new distribution channels (Netflix, Google, Amazon, Apple) can easily take over the role of the middle man as we currently know it.
“I doubt there’s a serious pitch out there that doesn’t come through here,” says Ted Sarandos, chief content officer at Netflix, where original programming is just one piece of a broader content strategy he oversees. Under his watch, Netflix has already greenlighted four original series.
This should be the warning for networks and cablers – if they don’t play ball with the new distribution channels  they’ll simply be routed around:
To some degree, Netflix was essentially forced into doing original programming. The kind of series Sarandos coveted most — critically acclaimed serialized dramas from HBO and Showtime — were never going to make their way to the streaming side of Netflix given the incumbents weren’t about to arm a would-be competitor with its own weapons. “Cards” represented a turning point for Netflix when Sarandos outbid his TV counterparts for a property he would never get on Netflix if it went to one of those pay nets.
“We concluded that if this is an area of programming that our customers really enjoy, and the economics work well for us, then we’ll just create a new market if we’re not going to be licensing in that aftermarket,” Sarandos says. “Based on the quality of the slate so far, we have proven that we can bring these shows to market. We’ll see if ‘House of Cards,’ when it starts on Netflix, is just as great an experience or better if it played somewhere.”
Then there are these comments indicating that Netflix and others are actually better matched for the audience experience expectations than traditional media:
“Our success isn’t dependent on traditional media spending to try to motivate every American to do the same thing at the same time, which has a pretty hit-or-miss record,” Sarandos says. “If you’re going to spend tens of millions of dollars to get America to tune in to a show Wednesday night at 8 p.m., its success is likely more dependent on the marketing working than the show itself. We give creative talent more comfort that we’re more of meritocracy than a test of a network’s marketing group.”