Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) made a lot of money from House of Cards, according to actor Kevin Spacey, who took part in an inspiring and fun-filled talk show hosted by IBM in Las Vegas to discuss how big data is transforming the World. Spacey, the main character of Netflix original drama, offered various interesting insights about the show, according to Business Insider.
Customizing trailers
According to Spacey, the online video streaming company customizes trailers for individual shows. For instance, if a viewer is searching for Kevin Spacey movies, then the clip will have a lot of Spacey, and if someone is searching action movies, then the clip will show a lot of action sequences. These tailored trailers are not possible on regular TV or cable.
Spacey also talked about the investment Netflix made in House of Cards and how profitable this ad-free model of Internet streaming TV can be. Spacey said that there were reports claiming that the company had shelled out $100 million to create the first season of House of Cards, but he could not confirm or deny that figure. However, according to the report, Spacey must know the figure, as he was also the executive producer of the show.
Experts doubted Netflix model
The actor added that at that time, experts mocked Netflix, saying that it would not be able to earn that money back. At that time, the team calculated that the company still needed 565,000 more subscribers to reach break-even, and since the launch of House of Cards, Spacey estimated that around 17 million new members have subscribed to Netflix.
House of Cards’ first season premiered in February 2013, and since then, Netflix has expanded to 50.7 million paid internet members all over the world, according to the official statement. This is an increase from 27.5 million at the end of 2012, when it reported earnings in January.
For the last reported quarter, the growth rate was a bit slow compared to what Wall Street expected, but the company was resilient in the face of tough competitors like HBO and CBS, which are gearing up to offer their own internet-streaming subscriptions.
In early morning trading Thursday, Netflix shares were up by .91% to $381.25, while year to date, shares are up by around 4%.
