Samantha Delouya writes for CNN about Netflix’s new ideas for itself, which will bring its offer closer to… traditional television, which it revolutionized.
Good old match broadcasts
Football matches, wrestling matches, and finally – experiences that provide a higher level of immersion (i.e. feeling) – this is how Netflix intends to enrich its offer. Perhaps the company’s owners hope that in this way they will attract a slightly more conservative audience, which has so far remained faithful to the schedule of traditional television.
Netflix analyst Tim Nollen said Netflix wants to be more than the old-school broadcasters of the good old days. But they were certainly responsible for making sure that the masses could watch the biggest sporting events back then. Now, the streaming platform will make sure of that, signing a three-year deal to broadcast the National Football League (NFL) Christmas games.
This is by no means Netflix’s own idea – Peacock (streaming from NBCUniversal) recorded 2.8 million new sign-ups in three days after announcing it would broadcast the NFL playoffs. However, it will also broadcast wrestling games – it has also signed a deal with WWE Raw.
Netflix Ecosystem
The idea of broadcasting matches seems like a business success, but the company also has other, bold and slightly riskier plans. Namely, it wants to open two huge entertainment centers called Netflix House. They have even chosen locations – these are the areas of former department stores in Dallas and the Philadelphia area.
Each of the facilities is to have an area of over 9,000 square meters and will be adapted to host events, as well as bars, restaurants and shops full of Netflix merch. Their main function will be to build brand loyalty, although they will differ in scale from the opulence of Disney or Universal theme parks.
The parks’ job will be to retain in the “Netflix ecosystem” those customers who have been with the platform for some time and can expect it to provide them with further experiences, said company analyst David Joyce.
