Until now, anyone who wanted to enjoy Netflix Originals had to have a subscription to the streaming service. However, this requirement could soon be a thing of the past. Is Netflix now making the leap into linear television?
Whether it’s “Bridgerton,” “The Queen’s Gambit” or “The Crown,” Netflix Originals are becoming increasingly popular. Lockdown has also played its part in this development. Cinemas are closed and the often pompous theatrical release of new films has to be cancelled.
Theatrical revenues, however, are vital to the survival of many lavishly produced blockbusters. That’s why the makers are resorting to what seems to be the only solution: they postpone and postpone and postpone.
This is what happened with the current “James Bond” film. The film was supposed to have been released long ago. In the meantime, its release has been postponed five times – currently to October 8, 2021.
Cinema takes a back seat
Normally, the major studios compete with streaming services such as Netflix, Prime Video and Co. But since the pandemic, many who do not want to postpone their films are also switching to streaming providers.
The advance of streaming services like Netflix is also evidenced by the numbers. In the Corona year 2020, Netflix was able to generate revenues of around 25 billion US dollars. That is an increase of more than four billion US dollars.
And the profit is also impressive at around 2.76 billion US dollars. By comparison, the previous year’s profit was still 1.87 billion U.S. dollars.
Netflix strives for linear television
Now Netflix wants to turn the tables, as The Information reports.
According to the report, the streaming service wants to lift its own productions onto linear television. Negotiations are apparently already underway with media companies such as NBC Universal and Viacom CBS, which operate a number of TV stations in the United States.
According to the report, Netflix had wanted to sell “Bird Box” with Sandra Bullock and “The Christmas Chronicles” with Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, among others, to the broadcasting groups. However, the talks reportedly fell through.
New revenue streams from linear television
The insiders cited by The Information also talk about Netflix having also negotiated the licensing of older in-house productions. However, the corresponding channels and content are not mentioned.
Should the streaming service actually succeed in making the leap into linear television, this could mean a unifying new source of revenue. Since Netflix does not run any advertising on its platform, revenues flow into the streamer’s coffers almost exclusively through subscription fees.
Netflix could also gain new customers through this step – who are made aware of Netflix’s content through the linear program and might thus be more likely to decide in favor of a subscription.
