Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, during the virtual presentation of news.
The streaming platform Netflix has resorted on Wednesday to a virtual call to neutralize the threat that the writers' strike posed to the initial plan, a face-to-face appointment in a New York theater. It held the great annual call, the presentation of news, the announcement of strategies and the balance of its new business model, the subscription plan with advertising, which six months after its launch reaches the figure of five million monthly active users.
The plan, which costs seven dollars a month in the U.S. — less than half the price of the most popular offering — aims to boost growth in a sector where new streaming customers have been harder to convince, especially domestically, because of the saturation of supply. The word advertising was most pronounced during the first leg of the presentation, or upfront in business jargon, the annual ritual in which major television networks present their fall programming to buyers and advertisers in New York.
Monthly users are not necessarily subscribers; In fact, some may be sharing plans. Still, the figure may allay some fears that Netflix's ad-supported offering has started idling. Despite the threat of a picket of strikers in front of the Manhattan theater where the event was scheduled to be held, the traffic data could not be more promising for the platform that leads the global streaming sector, a mode of entertainment catapulted in its day by the pandemic and later in the process of sedimentation of the abundant offer. Netflix leads with an abysmal difference over its competitors in the US: it is three times larger than the sum of all its rivals, and leads at a distance of more than 40 points (five times greater), of the next, Disney +.
"We have it all, from Emmy-winning series to reality shows, from comedies to true crime, from Oscar winners to action and adventure, from romantic comedies to horror movies," said Greg Peters, co-CEO of Netflix. This year, the executive recalled, Netflix has had, according to Nielsen, the number one original television program in streaming in the US for 15 of the 16 weeks evaluated, and the number one movie for 14.
The presentation, very focused on the US market, also had room for content that is marking the global conversation, such as the success of the series The Diplomat, the last of Netflix after titles such as The Crown. "No other entertainment company aspires to create great movies and shows of so many genres, in so many countries, and for such a wide and diverse audience. We do this by partnering with world-class talent, giving them the freedom and support to tell their best stories. Our partnership with them is the main reason why we can offer our members new and original stories," explained Bela Bajaria, Head of Content.
Among the planetary announcements, there was no lack of the second season of the series The Diplomat, starring Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell; Anthony Doerr's ambitious Pulitzer adaptation The Light You Can't See about Nazism; a nod to the growing Latino market with the series Griselda, which recreates the life of a powerful narco boss and is starring and produced by Sofia Vergara, and new installments of classics such as Los Bridgerton and Stranger Things. In autumn will arrive the sixth season, and final touch, of The Crown, a production that has earned Netflix countless awards. The fourth season of the acidic Sex Education will also premiere.
Among other great novelties, in addition to the aforementioned Griselda, in the path of the superhit Narcos and its extensive sequel, The Fall of the House of Usher, based on the stories of Edward Allan Poe. A documentary series about former footballer David Beckham, a survival program and a clear commitment to local markets, from South Korea to Spain with the seventh season of Elite or Berlin, from the creators of La casa de papel, complete the offer, in addition to the always abundant assortment of documentaries.
"The special relationship fans have with Netflix programming is shaping the culture in powerful and unexpected ways," said Ted Sarandos, the company's other co-CEO. Mentions of the key role of advertising also served to end the presentation. Just as Netflix revolutionized the market with House of Cards, Sarandos promised "similar advances in advertising" that "can be just as impactful." "We have a long way to go to build scale in advertising", in "a better future for ad-supported streaming", a synergy that, for the moment and judging by the data, has been revealed as a formula for success.
You can follow EL PAÍS TELEVISIÓN on Twitter or sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.