This year has seen Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) enjoy not only ridiculous stock gains but critical acclaim for its original series House of Cards, Arrested Development, and Orange Is The New Black, the last of which is the only true original production. House of Cards was reworked from the BBC miniseries, while Arrested Development’s first three seasons were produced by FOX. Each of these shows serves a dual short-term need for Netflix, allowing them to retain subscribers at the same time as gathering new subscribers interested in its original programming. In the long-term, each of these series will allow Netflix to follow a similar strategy to Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE:TWC)’s HBO, licensing rights and direct sales of DVDs.
Netflix to begin stand-up comedy streaming
Without mentioning HBO specifically, in July of this year Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) announced that it would begin its own foray into the world of stand-up comedy specials and documentaries.
Today saw Netflix announce that the subscription streaming-video service will premiere a comedy special and four-part documentary series based on Canadian comedian Russell Peters’ Notorious world tour next month.
The 70-minute stand-up special, which shares the same name as the tour itself, and docu-series Russell Peters vs. the World will be available on Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) on October 14.
Russell Peters’ background
For many people, especially white people, the question “Who is Russell Peters,” is certainly acceptable. Russell Peters’ stand-up performances are mostly made up of observational comedy where he uses humor to highlight racial, ethnic, class and cultural stereotypes. He often refers to his own life experiences growing up in an Indian family and impersonates various English accents in his act to poke fun at each racial group.
Essentially, Mr. Peters uses his brown skin to make jokes that white people can’t, even though its hard to imagine a whiter country than Canada despite its large Asian population.
Whether Mr. Peters is on your radar or not, he is on the radar of Forbes magazine, who has Peters as the third-highest earning comedian in the world with an estimated salary of over $20 million annually. He has broken comic performance attendance in a number of countries including England, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore. It’s not uncommon for Peters to sell out venues of over 15,000 people.
Today is proof that Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) isn’t resting on its laurels, but rather plans to challenge HBO in a race to print its own money.
