Upwards of 50 percent, and "sometimes 60 percent" of Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) streaming is now TV episodes, the company's chief content officer said during a keynote address at MIPCOM conference in Cannes.
"That can be misperceived as Netflix giving up on movies, which it's not," said Ted Sarandos. "It's just consumers saying what they want." That consumer demand, he said, is why Netflix signed a deal to license Mad Men content for streaming, as well as its original content deal for the remake of the BBC's House of Cards.
Sarandos also announced that the company had signed another deal for original content, this one for a TV dramedy, Lilyhammer, starring Steven Van Zandt as a mobster who opts for witness protection in the Norwegian town of Lillehammer, the site of the 1994 Winter Olympics.
Sarandos said Netflix would use its recommendation algorithms to quickly get the show in front of subscribers most likely to watch it.
"We really think we can use these same algorithms to launch a show very rapidly, and put it in the hands of the people who'll love it the most," he said.
Netflix recently also was rumored to be in the running to stream a limited number of original Arrested Development episodes as a prelude to a yet-to-be produced movie sequel. The L.A. Times, however, points out that a movie sequel has been rumored since 2009.
For more:
- see this Guardian blog
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