Rumours about impending Netflix launches in The Netherlands and France are surfacing again.
This time, Belgian press speculates about a launch not only in these two countries, but also in Belgium itself following recruitment advertising for translators for French, Dutch, as well as Turkish, Korean and Indian.
During the presentation of its 2012 figures, Netflix confirmed that it would announce its next European launch in July. Apart from The Netherlands and France, Germany is thought to be one of the next markets the streaming S-VOD service will enter.
Last year, Netlfix launched in the UK and Ireland as well as in the Nordic countries. Launching in large market such as France and Germany would make sense, but these countries require dubbed content, while the Benelux and Scandinavian countries are used to original versions with subtitles.
However, launching in a smaller market such as The Netherlands would also make sense because broadband penetration among homes is by far the highest in that country. Netflix would compete against the VOD services of cable operators UPC and Ziggo as well as against KPN’s IPTV service and web-based services such as Pathe Thuis and Ximon,