Accessibility links

Breaking News

Netflix Eyes Entering Tricky China Market on Its Own


FILE - The Netflix logo on is shown on an iPad in Encinitas, California.
FILE - The Netflix logo on is shown on an iPad in Encinitas, California.

U.S. video service provider Netflix is likely to enter the Chinese market without a local partner, which could make it harder to do business in the world's biggest internet market widely known for censorship and strict regulation.

File - This image released by Netflix shows Robin Wright as Clair Underwood, left, and Kevin Spacey as Francis Underwood in a scene from "House of Cards." The second season of the popular original series premieres, Feb. 14, 2014 on Netflix.
File - This image released by Netflix shows Robin Wright as Clair Underwood, left, and Kevin Spacey as Francis Underwood in a scene from "House of Cards." The second season of the popular original series premieres, Feb. 14, 2014 on Netflix.

The firm, known for its U.S. political thriller ''House of Cards'', also plans to look at exporting content produced in China to the rest of the world, Netflix's Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos told reporters at a talk in Shanghai on Monday.

Global firms are eyeing a slice of China's fast-growing entertainment market, but have often faced a rocky reception. Google, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have all been blocked in the country.

''It's unlikely that we would definitely pursue [a local partner model] as a strategy... These ventures become very complex and very difficult to manage, and ultimately difficult to be successful,'' said Sarandos.

Without a local partner, Netflix would need to obtain multiple operating licenses on its own, something the firm has said previously may be a potential hold-up.
The firm would need around eight different licenses to launch in China, Sarandos said, adding that business in the country was ''subject to a censorship and regulatory environment that we haven't had to deal with.''

The movie and TV streaming service faces competition from local rivals, including Tencent Holdings Ltd and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, who are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to bring foreign TV and films to China.

China's regulators are also imposing new licensing and quota restrictions on foreign players and content in a move analysts say will help the domestic television and film industry.

  • 16x9 Image

    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

XS
SM
MD
LG