July 23, 2013 (TSR-CNTV) – Netflix is an American provider of on-demand streaming media. Earlier this year, it unveiled the first television series of its own: a remake of the British TV show “House of Cards.” It proved to be a hit with critics and the viewers. Since then, Netflix has churned out more of its own productions. And now, they’ve even picked up some prestigious U.S. award nominations.
14 Emmy nominations. That’s the tally for the four shows created by Netflix. The company also made history for being recognized by U.S. television’s most prestigious award so quickly.
Perennial Emmy favorite HBO may have gotten more nominations, but it took them a lot longer.
Tuna Amobi, Senior Equity Analyst, Standard & Poor’s Capital IQ, said, “It took them 25 years to get their first nomination. Its taken Netflix less than six months.”
Netflix shows like “Orange is the New Black” – and especially “House of Cards” starring Kevin Spacey – were helped by terrific reviews.
Matt Roush, Senior Critic, TV Guide, said, “They cast it with big names. It had a gorgeous look to it. It really felt like you were watching an HBO quality show. So in that regard, House of Cards could not be ignored. So it’s a big year for Netflix.”
And a big year for Netflix shareholders. The stock is 2013’s best performer among the S&P 500 index.
With a price tag of 100 million dollars for two seasons of House of Cards, creating original content hasn’t come cheap. That’s been a concern, but based on some calculations Netflix has already made its money back by adding around three million subscribers in the first quarter
Investors also have been skeptical of the Netflix strategy to release all episodes at once, allowing for binge viewing. The worry was that viewers would watch the series and then cancel their subscriptions.
But Standard &Poor’s equity analyst Tuna Amobi says Netflix’s gamble seems to have paid off.
“Thus far it doesn’t seem to have been anything but a benefit for them, helping to lure new subscribers and retaining existing subscribers to the platform.” Tuna Amobi said.
While investors and critics seem to be over the moon about Netflix’s original content strategy, cable companies are less enthused. That’s perhaps because they have the most to fear from a successful Netflix. At 9.99 a month for a Netflix subscription – versus an ever rising cable bill – Netflix looks like an affordable way to get quality content.
