Netflix Announces Next Market: the Netherlands
Netflix is going Dutch.
The Netherlands will be the next country to get the streaming service, the company announced late Tuesday. Scheduled for late 2013, the addition will likely be the only new market for Netflix this year.
After ramping up rapidly in dozens of countries across Europe and Latin America over 2011-12, Netflix put the brakes on international expansion this year citing the expense of the expansion. CEO Reed Hastings indicated the company would take a more measured approach to further expansion this year, previously indicating only one new country would be added; France and Belgium were also rumored to be possibilities.
Netflix announced in its first quarter earnings in April a total of over 36 million subscribers worldwide; 7.14 million of them are based overseas. The addition of Netherlands likely won’t move that needle much in the long term considering it is a relatively small market.
After making its Canada its first overseas market in 2010, Netflix has since moved to U.K., Ireland, Sweden and many more countries within Latin America. Expansion has been a mixed bag for Netflix, where its growth has been challenged by either incumbent competition or infrastructure inadequacies ranging from billing to broadband.
Netflix has touted strong reception for its original series worldwide this year, ranging from “House of Cards” to “Arrested Development.”
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