Netflix announce ‘ambitious’ expansion

[dropcap]D[/dropcap]uring the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on 6 January 2016, Netflix announced an ambitious plan to expand its online streaming service to 130 more countries, with major markets including Russia, India and South-East Asia.

Netflix has faced many issues since its transition from selling DVDs to online streaming during the late 2000s, with the concept of streaming TV online alien at the time. However, ever since the rapid technological advancements we have made in just the past 10 years, Netflix has evolved into an incredible platform for seamless access to a variety of digital content.

Image: Bryan Gosline / Wikimedia Commons

In fact the Netflix subscriber base has sharply risen from around 23.11m subscribers in the United States in around 2011 to 69.17m worldwide as of October 2015. What was once an unknown and risky project has quickly changed into a profitable venture, with Netflix having made numerous deals to increase its digital collection of movies and TV shows.

What has arguably given Netflix the profitability and reliability factor has been the success of releasing original TV content, a concept that has changed from revolutionary to normal in just a mere matter of years. While the award winning show House of Cards seemed ambitious to release solely on digital media, now there’s a slew of original Netflix shows that captivate and are well reviewed such as Narcos, Daredevil and – most recently – Jessica Jones.  Particularly appealing is that Netflix original TV releases all the episodes of a season at once, which is an innovate step that has led to Netflix’s rise in popularly.

Given the ease of access Netflix provides to entertainment, consumers all around the world have much to look forward to

However, will the company’s expansion to the rest of the world benefit everyone? What could be cause for concern is Netflix’s potential to disrupt local companies that distribute media rights. One major example would be India, a consumer base with the potential to see Netflix’s current total of subscribers quadruple.

However, EROS Now, a local company that dominates the Indian digital and cable market, would present a challenge for Netflix’s expansion plans. After all, EROS Now has the largest collection of Indian movies and music available online and on DVD, with subscriber costs lower than Netflix.

Nevertheless, it is unavoidable that Netflix has transformed the way TV works

An outpouring of innovative ideas have accompanied the rise of Netflix and other streaming services, and with this recent news that the company will expand worldwide, it seems that the age of cable TV has come to a close.