Netflix has no plans to launch a linear channel, according to Maria Ferreras, the company’s VP business development EMEA.
Speaking at the OTTtv World Forum, she added that it would instead make the service more accessible to viewers. “So there will be evolution, but not in a linear way”.
Ferreras also said that outside the US, partnerships will become very critical for the company.
Significantly, she said that one of the pillars of Netflix’s strategy is to focus on its strengths. Looking specifically at the EMEA region, it classified certain markers as “critical”. They include the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy. Meanwhile, Poland, Turkey and all of Scandinavia are “rising stars”, while territories in the Balkan region either “opportunistic” or “hold”.
Ferreras said that Netflix will spend $6 billion on original content this year, with the figure rising to $8 billion in 2018. It will have produced over 1,000 hours of original content this year (600 in 2016), with almost all titles being made in 4K, increasingly adding support for HDR & Dolby Atmos.
