Is it possible for Netflix, which became famous due to "House of Cards", to enter China?

Chinese video websites like to call themselves the "Chinese version of Netflix". And this time, Netflix may really be coming. According to foreign media reports, Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, a US streaming video service provider, said at the DLD (Digital, Life, Design) Conference in Munich on Monday that Netflix plans to launch streaming video services in China, and negotiations with Chinese regulators are making progress. But he did not give a specific timetable for entering China.

Netflix was founded in California in 1997, mainly providing movie rental and streaming services. The success of "House of Cards" made it very popular. By the end of 2015, the company had more than 74 million subscribers worldwide.

Netflix's data analysis has made "House of Cards" recognized by audiences around the world (Internet data map)

In the capital market, Netflix is ​​one of the hottest stocks in the U.S. stock market in the past year. In 2015, Netflix was the best performing stock in the S&P 500, with a cumulative increase of more than 100% throughout the year.

In January this year at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced in his keynote speech that Netflix has expanded its services to 130 new countries and regions, including India, Russia, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and other countries. This means that Netflix's services have reached more than 190 countries and regions around the world.

"Netflix has basically taken over the world," Reed Hastings said confidently at the time.

But the Chinese market is an exception.

Public data shows that Netflix revealed its desire to enter the Chinese market a year ago. In January last year, Reed Hastings said that the company plans to expand its business operations from the current approximately 50 countries to as many as 200 countries in the next two years. "But for the Chinese market, we are still exploring various options."

In March last year, Netflix's then chief content officer Ted Sarandos said in an interview with the media that the American video website Netflix would enter the Chinese market alone and would not cooperate with local Chinese companies.

"We are unlikely to adopt a model of cooperation with local manufacturers because such cooperation is very complex, difficult to manage, and ultimately difficult to succeed," said Ted Sarandos.

Four months later, on July 15, Netflix announced that the timetable for entering China might be delayed based on the company's development goals, and that it was currently evaluating the Chinese market and looking for partners.

At Netflix's earnings analyst meeting in October last year, an analyst asked Reed Hastings about the Chinese market. At that time, he answered: Regarding the Chinese market, what we can reveal is that we are still learning and understanding it. There is no specific information to disclose at present. It is in the very early stages of development.

In fact, although Reed Hastings recently said that Netflix plans to launch streaming video services in China and that negotiations with Chinese regulators are making progress, it is difficult for Reed Hastings to give an exact timetable for when to enter China.

"Maybe we'll get a license from China soon, maybe it'll take a few years, but we'll wait very patiently," said Reed Hastings.

Netflix executives have previously pointed out that if Netflix wants to do business in China, it will need eight different licenses, which is something Netflix has never encountered before.

Hastings also cited Apple as an example. He said that it took Apple six years and repeated negotiations to finally get the iPhone into the Chinese market. "We have learned a lot from Apple's patience. We may get a license to enter the Chinese market soon, but it may also take several years. Therefore, we must be patient."

Hastings hinted at the conference that Netflix hopes to enter the Chinese market as soon as possible. Hastings pointed out that iTunes launched a movie service in China last September, and Disney and Alibaba also announced in December last year that they would jointly launch a streaming service in China.

Even if Netflix is ​​able to successfully obtain a license to enter the Chinese market, it will face challenges from many local Chinese competitors such as iQiyi, Youku, Tencent, LeTV, etc.

It can be seen that even after entering the global market, Netflix's flagship content is still mainly American content, and Hollywood characteristics are Netflix's distinctive label. "As for the "Hollywood" feature, China's Tencent Video has already reached cooperation agreements with well-known Hollywood film companies such as Warner Bros., Universal, Miramax, and Lionsgate in early 2013 to launch paid membership services in Hollywood theaters.

Since then, Tencent Video Hollywood Cinema has cooperated with Paramount, HBO, MGM and others, and obtained exclusive broadcasting of films including the "007" series, "Transformers", "Interstellar", and "Star Trek: Beyond".

Alibaba announced last year that it would enter the online streaming video market and launch a new service called TBO, or Tmall Box Office (meaning "Tmall Box Office"). Some of the content of this service will be produced locally, and the other content will be purchased overseas. In the eyes of the outside world, Alibaba hopes to make TBO into China's Netflix.

The use of big data to produce film and television programs is no longer Netflix's "patent". Previously, the video website iQiyi said it has begun to apply artificial intelligence and deep learning principles to the field of online video.

In the area of ​​user payment, over the past year, iQiyi, LeTV and others have already begun to attract many paying members by relying on original self-produced dramas and exclusive content.

In addition, consumers in each country have different preferences for film and television content. In the future, Netflix will choose to develop independently in China or find Chinese partners to operate the Chinese market together, and how to launch content that caters to Chinese consumers and other "localization" issues will also test Netflix.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.