Netflix Leads with the Story

“Ballsy,” was the reaction many had to news of Netflix diving into original content creation.

Smart, logical and obvious were the words that came to my mind.

“Television no longer refers to the box sitting in your living room—television refers to storytelling,” said Academy of Television and Sciences Chairman Bruce Rosenblum, while being interviewed for a recent Los Angeles Times article. “The method by which our viewers experience those stories is truly irrelevant.”

Netflix knew that. HBO had paved the way.

HBO changed the original programming and distribution landscape when it revamped its business model, to include original programming and mobile apps, allowing viewers an alternate to the struggling networks’ programs—and to catch their favorite programs on the go. It’s early award-winning programs (think The Sopranos and Sex and the City ) paved the way for its current hit, Game of Thrones , as well as programming by Showtime, Starz, a slew of cable networks (including AMC, TNT, TBS, FX and FXX)—and Netflix.

Netflix, like HBO, is subscription-based. To grow its audience, it had to offer current and potential customers more robust programming, outside the traditional studio movies.

It has done so via previously-run TV shows and exclusive content, such as House Of Cards , Arrested Development , Hemlock Grove and Orange Is The New Black .

“I knew the stakes were high, in terms of the size of the bet,” said Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer of Netflix, and the man behind the original content. “But if we believe all those things we say we believe in—that television is going to be mostly on-demand and mostly delivered [digitally]—then someone had to lead that charge. It had to be something as good or better than anything on TV.”

To Sarandos’ credit, Netflix’s programming received 14 Emmy nominations in July.

The takeaway?

Original content works—and viewers don’t care whether a show is on TV or their laptops or tablets or phones.

We tune in for the story, not the medium—whether it is a new film, series, book, album or advertisement.

The stories are the leads.

via Business 2 Community http://www.business2community.com/content-marketing/netflix-leads-story-0598779?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=netflix-leads-story