In November 2018, Paramount Pictures signed a multi-picture film deal with Netflix, making Paramount the first major film studio to sign a deal with Netflix. On the same day, the company signed an overall deal with Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch. On August 27, 2018, the company signed a five-year exclusive overall deal with international best–selling author Harlan Coben. In December 2017, Netflix signed Stranger Things director-producer Shawn Levy and his production company 21 Laps Entertainment to what sources say is a four-year deal. Netflix released an estimated 30 original series or films over that year, more than any network or cable channel. According to the company, it has invested the equivalent of €160 million in film content production in Africa since it began working on the continent in 2016 with over 12,000 jobs created across Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa.

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Among those nominations was Wright for Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama for her portrayal of Claire Underwood, which she won. Tags like “bittersweet”, “sitcom”, or “intimate” are assigned to each title by Netflix employees. This is done by organizing content into rows and ranking the titles within each row based on how much the user would be interested in it.

Co-CEOs, discontinuation of DVDs, expansion of live events and venues, WWE (2023–present)

These are often grouped into genres and formats, or feature the platform’s highest-rated content. On October 1, 2008, Netflix offered access to its service via a public application programming interface (API). Netflix freely peers with Internet service providers (ISPs) directly and at common Internet exchange points. The company shut down its Southern California “Team Blue” AAA gaming studio in October 2024, leading to the departure of developers like Overwatch producer Chacko Sonny, Halo veteran Joseph Staten and God of War art director Rafael Grassetti. In June 2024, Verdu was moved into a new role focusing on “innovation in game development.” The next month, Netflix hired Alain Tascan, vice president of game development at Epic Games, to head up Netflix Games. Netflix opened a mobile game studio in Helsinki, Finland in September 2022, and a new studio, their fifth overall, in southern California in October 2022, alongside the acquisition of Spry Fox in Seattle.

Getting started with Netflix

On September 21, 2021, Netflix announced that it would acquire the Roald Dahl Story Company, which manages the rights to Roald Dahl’s stories and characters, for an undisclosed price and would operate it as an independent company. On June 30, 2021, Powerhouse Animation Studios (the studio behind Netflix’s Castlevania) announced signing a first-look deal with the streamer to produce more animated series. The company also announced that it would open an office in Sweden as well as Rome and Istanbul to increase its original content in those regions. On April 8, 2021, Sony Pictures Entertainment announced an agreement for Netflix to hold the U.S. pay television window rights to its releases beginning in 2022, replacing Starz and expanding upon an existing agreement with Sony Pictures Animation.

Squid Game: Unleashed

• Netflix opened a mobile game studio in Helsinki, Finland in September 2022, and a new studio, their fifth overall, in southern California in October 2022, alongside the acquisition of Spry Fox in Seattle.
• In September 2017, Netflix announced it would offer its low-broadband mobile technology to airlines to provide better in-flight Wi-Fi so that passengers can watch movies on Netflix while on planes.
• As of July 2024, Netflix has over 80 games in development, releasing at least one game each month to attract fans.
• The agreement also includes a first-look deal for any future direct-to-streaming films being produced by Sony Pictures, with Netflix required to commit to a minimum number of them.
• As part of this expansion, Netflix officially launched its services in Africa, with a focus on South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria.
• In March 2023, Netflix won six Academy Awards including four for All Quiet on the Western Front which was the most awarded Netflix film in its history.

Stranger Things received 19 nominations at the 2017 Primetime Emmy Awards, while The Crown received 13 nominations. However, streaming shows only got 24 nominations out of a total of 139, falling significantly behind cable. On January 16, 2014, Netflix became vegas casino apk the first streaming service to earn an Academy Award nomination when The Square was nominated for Best Documentary Feature. On December 12, 2013, the network earned six nominations for Golden Globe Awards, including four for House of Cards. With its win for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series, “Chapter 1” became the first episode from a streaming service to be awarded an Emmy. Three of its series, Arrested Development, Hemlock Grove and House of Cards, earned a combined 14 nominations (nine for House of Cards, three for Arrested Development and two for Hemlock Grove).

• The per-rental model was dropped by early 2000, allowing the company to focus on the business model of flat-fee unlimited rentals without due dates, late fees, shipping and handling fees, or per-title rental fees.
• As users interact with the platform and provide feedback with their viewing habits, the recommendation system is able to adapt and refine its suggestions over time.
• In December 2020, Netflix signed a first-look deal with Millie Bobby Brown to develop and star in several projects including a potential action franchise.
• In August 2023, the company announced Netflix Stories, a collection of interactive narrative games from Netflix series and movies such as Love is Blind, Money Heist and Virgin River.
• Netflix then partnered with the developers of eight services deemed the most valuable, including Instant Watcher, Fanhattan, Yidio and Nextguide.

App Functionality

In May 2014, Netflix & Sony Pictures Animation had a major multi-deal to acquire streaming rights to produce films. In 2020, Netflix earned 24 Academy Award nominations, marking the first time a streaming service led all studios. On January 22, 2019, films distributed by Netflix scored 15 nominations for the 91st Academy Awards, including Academy Award for Best Picture for Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma, which was nominated for 10 awards. Netflix holds exclusive streaming rights to the film library of Studio Ghibli (except Grave of the Fireflies) worldwide except in the U.S. and Japan as part of an agreement signed with Ghibli’s international sales holder Wild Bunch in 2020. Formerly, the streaming service also held rights to select television programs distributed by NBCUniversal Television Distribution, Sony Pictures Television and 20th Century Fox Television.

The company acquired Night School Studio, an independent video game developer, in September 2021. To support the games effort, Netflix began acquiring and forming a number of studios. Verdu said in October 2022 that besides continuing to expand their portfolio of games, they were also interested in cloud gaming options. Netflix negotiated to distribute animated films from Universal that HBO declined to acquire, such as The Lorax, ParaNorman, and Minions. Netflix also holds current and back-catalog rights to television programs distributed by Walt Disney Television, DreamWorks Classics, Kino International, PBS, Warner Bros. Netflix can be accessed via a web browser, while Netflix apps are available on various platforms, including Blu-ray players, tablet computers, mobile phones, smart TVs, digital media players, and video game consoles.

In March 2018, Sky UK announced an agreement with Netflix to integrate Netflix’s subscription VOD offering into its pay-TV service. In February 2018, Netflix acquired the rights to The Cloverfield Paradox from Paramount Pictures for $50 million and launched on its service on February 4, 2018, shortly after airing its first trailer during Super Bowl LII. In November 2017, Netflix announced that it would be making its first original Colombian series, to be executive produced by Ciro Guerra.

On the same day, Netflix partnered with Lebanon-based Arab Fund For Arts And Culture for supporting the Arab female filmmakers. It also partnered with Group Effort Initiative, a company founded by Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, to provide opportunities behind the camera for those in underrepresented communities. On April 13, 2022, Netflix released the series Our Great National Parks, which was hosted and narrated by former US President Barack Obama. On March 31, 2022, Netflix ordered a docuseries that would follow teams in the 2022 Tour de France, which would also be co-produced by Box to Box Films. On March 29, 2022, Netflix announced that it would open an office in Poland to serve as a hub for its original productions across Central and Eastern Europe. Later in the month, Netflix also acquired the Texas-based mobile game developer, Boss Fight Entertainment, for an undisclosed sum.

Launch as a mail-based rental business (1997–

For the initial two years of this agreement, first-run and back-catalog content from Epix was exclusive to Netflix. By 2016, Netflix rebranded its DVD-by-mail service under the name DVD.com, A Netflix Company. The cost for streaming would be $7.99 per month, while DVD rental would start at the same price. By May 2011, Netflix had become the largest source of Internet streaming traffic in North America, accounting for 30% of traffic during peak hours. Sony pushed Netflix to release Breaking Bad in time for the fourth season, which as a result, greatly expanded the show’s audience on AMC due to new viewers bingeing on the Netflix past episodes, and doubling the viewership by the time of the fifth season. In 2010, Netflix acquired the rights to Breaking Bad, produced by Sony Pictures Television, after the show’s third season, at a point where original broadcaster AMC had expressed the possibility of cancelling the show.

The rights to these programs were given to Netflix shortly after deals with Viacom to stream Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. In January 2011, Netflix announced agreements with several manufacturers to include branded Netflix buttons on the remote controls of devices compatible with the service, such as Blu-ray players. In November 2010, Netflix began offering a standalone streaming service separate from DVD rentals. In late 2006, Red Envelope Entertainment also expanded into producing original content with filmmakers such as John Waters.

Content

The deals give Netflix exclusive streaming rights while adhering to the structures of traditional pay TV terms. Over the years, Netflix output ballooned to a level unmatched by any television network or streaming service. That same month, Netflix announced that it would stream both National Football League Christmas games in 2024. The hub is to provide Netflix’s creative partners with software solutions for the production of films and series. CEO Ted Sarandos attributed the increase in viewership of Korean content among Americans to Korean films and dramas being “often unpredictable” and catching “the American audience by surprise”.

The second cause of action alleged infringement of the subscription rental service as well as Netflix’s methods of communication and delivery. While it was an urban legend that Netflix ultimately “killed” Blockbuster in the DVD rental market, Blockbuster’s debt load and internal disagreements hurt the company. In 2004, Blockbuster introduced a DVD rental service, which not only allowed users to check out titles through online sites but allowed for them to return them at brick and-mortar stores.

In February 2019, The Haunting creator Mike Flanagan joined frequent collaborator Trevor Macy as a partner in Intrepid Pictures and the duo signed an exclusive overall deal with Netflix to produce television content. On May 22, 2018, former president, Barack Obama, and his wife, Michelle Obama, signed a deal to produce docu-series, documentaries and features for Netflix under the Obamas’ newly formed production company, Higher Ground Productions. On April 25, 2017, Netflix signed a licensing deal with IQIYI, a Chinese video streaming platform owned by Baidu, to allow selected Netflix original content to be distributed in China on the platform. In April 2015, following the launch of Daredevil, Netflix director of content operations Tracy Wright announced that Netflix had added support for audio description, and had begun to work with its partners to add descriptions to its other original series over time.

In December 2020, Netflix signed a first-look deal with Millie Bobby Brown to develop and star in several projects including a potential action franchise. On April 7, 2020, Peter Chernin’s Chernin Entertainment made a multi-year first-look deal with Netflix to make films. On March 4, 2020, ViacomCBS announced that it will be producing two spin-off films based on SpongeBob SquarePants for Netflix.

In May 2025, Netflix announced a redesign of its home screen for the first time since 2013, which has a simplified appearance with more prominent metadata, and replaces the sidebar menu with a streamlined section of tabs along the top of the screen. The games both averaged over 30 million global viewers and became the two most-streamed NFL games in US history, while simultaneously creating Netflix’s most-watched Christmas Day ever in the US. On December 20, 2024, FIFA announced that Netflix would be the exclusive U.S. broadcaster of the 2027 and 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup, in what was deemed the platform’s most significant push into sports content. For 2025 and 2026, the streamer will have exclusive rights to at least one NFL Christmas game each year. Outside of the United States, it will also hold international rights to all three of WWE’s main weekly programs (Raw, SmackDown, and NXT), premium live events, and documentaries among other content.