Before Netflix came into the scene, people relied on cable TV and Blockbuster rentals for entertainment. Then along came Video-On-Demand, and today companies like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu have completely blown traditional media out of the water with its undeniable convenience to deliver whatever people want, whenever they want, and without any ads.
Netflix is a media-services provider and production company that sells its viewers monthly subscriptions, allowing them to watch as many movies and TV shows they want, whenever they want, as long as the titles are provided. That’s where one limitation comes in; subscribers can only watch the titles that are available in their home country. For example, you’ll have a hard time accessing amerikansk netflix titles if you live in Denmark, for example, but with Netflix available worldwide, with the exception of very few countries, you’ll have no trouble accessing a large library of entertainment… and there are always other ways for you to watch netflix fra usa should you be yearning for some of the more popular titles.
Netflix initially began in 1997 as a DVD rental company which customers could buy or rent online, and get delivered to via the post, creating a huge competitive disruption for the then-popular Blockbuster’s brick-and-mortar stores. In 2010, only when technology was ready to deal with it, they introduced online streaming for their customers, being able to offer a huge number of titles. One of the notable factors that set the company apart was Cinematch, a recommendation system that would suggest new titles based on a viewer’s watching history. This contributed to the company’s significant role in independent film distribution, as they could recommend lesser-known titles to their customer base regardless of their popularity, as they were tailored to fit the viewer’s taste. From there on, the growth was rapid, and by October 2018, Netflix was ranked by far as the world’s largest online video subscription service.
Today, Netflix is also a production company, producing a large range of titles under their own brand name. It has produced some award-winning TV series and movies, and provides these along with titles they acquire broadcasting rights for from other content producers, such as Warner Brothers and Sony pictures.
Netflix continues to offer its viewers a highly-personalised experience through affordable monthly subscriptions rather than a large one-off payment, which also allows users to watch their favorite TV shows and movies at an HD quality for a slightly higher price. Furthermore, the service is mobile-friendly and a subscription can be accessed from more than one device, making it rather family-friendly. In fact, it has been calculated that one in four US households are subscribed to Netflix. It has a global consumer base of 120 million, streaming on their various devices across 190 countries. It is estimated that 60% of the titles watched are based on personal recommendations, and some of their most popular self-made titles include Breaking Bad, Narcos, Orange is the New Black and Bird Box. And perhaps one of the best things that viewers love about on-demand streaming is that it is absolutely ad-free!
