Search This Blog

Monday, February 20, 2012

Why Hulu and Netflix Need Original Content #infdist

Excerpt:

"Will Silicon Valley kill Hollywood? Based on recent developments, it seems much more likely that the two will converge, as professional-quality original programming makes its way onto the Internet. Not only is it increasingly common for content producers to try their luck on platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo, but this move is now actively encouraged by the main players in the online video sector, from Amazon to Google. This isn’t entirely a surprise. For platforms such as YouTube, it makes sense to ensure that high-quality videos will be posted to the site to attract even more eyeballs and ad dollars...

...From distribution to production

Even more interestingly, both Hulu and Netflix figure among the companies that have shown interest in producing content from A to Z. While Netflix recently launched ‘Lilyhammer’, a Norwegian-American comic drama that the BBC deemed good enough to license, Hulu is also commissioning documentary series, the latest being ‘Up to Speed’ from the indie director Richard Linklater.

Although budgets haven’t been disclosed, Netflix’s investment in original content seems sizeable, and likely higher than Hulu’s – as we previously reported, Netflix’s spokesman Steve Swasey said in an email to Bloomberg that original content accounts for about 5% of the company’s content budget.

Yet, Netflix’s trial and error approach is quite limited compared to Amazon’s strategy. From screenwriting to distribution, the company seems ready to take the bull by the horns and take full control of a new kind of production cycle...."

Read the full post here:

http://thenextweb.com/media/2012/02/19/why-amazon-hulu-and-netflixs-move-to-o...

Posted via email from Siobhan O'Flynn's 1001 Tales

No comments: