The international growth of Netflix with their strategies has resulted in global success. Today, they are streaming online in 190 countries. Netflix began in 1997 as a DVD rental mailing service then introduced online streaming in 2007. Beginning in the US, Netflix’s initial growth strategy was geographically moving into markets that also had cultural similarities with the US.
2007 ——-> 2010 —–> 2011 ——-> 2012
US Canada Latin America & Caribbean Europe
The above time line shows their yearly international expansion. Per year, they saw a successful increase of subscribers so they were confident enough to venture into more regions after 2012.
Within their international expansion, Netflix considered their value to the market and their approach. Moving from the US to Canada was fairly easy as they were neighboring countries, main language was English, and their cultures had similarities. Skipping over the next two years — Netflix adjusted languages as needed to accommodate the Latin Community and adjusted promotional prices to get viewers attention. Their venture into distant countries involved the need to know the popular local programming, and include it as a hook.
Additional considerations Netflix adjusted per area/region/country were:
- Adapting content for movies/shows to align with cultural and legal regulations
- Including Dubbing or translating for the local languages
- Partnering with the local phone and cable operators
- Having contracts with local or regional studios, so producers could make local content
- Review/analyze customer data usage to see popular trends
- etc
The idea I grasp from this is that Netflix has a streaming service that depends on them adapting to each country they enter; and partnering with the locals in order to successfully operate.
Lastly, Netflix’s expansion was easily taken in by consumers due to just needing internet and online access. Netflix presents its service from various sources such signing contracts with studios or producers to gain rights to titles and also have their own content produced. These titles are available on many smart devices: smart TV, phones, tablets, game-consoles, and more.
Reference:
https://www.centuroglobal.com/article/the-remarkable-netflix-global-expansion-journey-a-case-study