For those that weren’t necessarily keeping track of Netflix’s availability across the globe, perhaps because it wasn’t available in your neck-of-the-woods, that probably changed today.
Netflix’s Reed Hastings took the stage at this year’s International Consumer Electronics Show for his own keynote, and announced that Netflix is now available in 130 new countries across the globe. That essentially means that the streaming provider’s distribution tripled in one fell swoop. The new markets include Singapore, India, Russia, South Korea, and many others. However, it isn’t available in some markets, including China.
“Today you are witnessing the birth of a new global internet TV network. With this launch, consumers around the world — from Singapore to St. Petersburg, from San Francisco to Sao Paulo — will be able to enjoy TV shows and movies simultaneously — no more waiting. With the help of the internet, we are putting power in consumers’ hands to watch whenever, wherever, and on whatever device.”
There are some restrictions keeping Netflix from providing content in some areas, though. Hastings confirmed that it won’t be streaming its library of shows and movies in Crimea, North Korea, or Syria, due to U.S. government restrictions on American companies. In addition, some of Netflix’s original content, including House of Cards and Orange Is The New Black, won’t be available in every market that Netflix just expanded to, due to distribution rights that Netflix is still trying to acquire.
That original content is going to expand in a major way to, in 2016, with Netflix looking to create “31 new and returning original series, two dozen original feature films and documentaries, a wide range of stand-up comedy specials, and 30 original kids’ series.” Now that Netflix is available just about everywhere, that means even more eyeballs staring at Netflix’s content, which is a huge win for the streaming service.
If you didn’t have Netflix in your area before, do you now?
[via The Next Web]
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