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Tag: Orange is The New Black

  • Lionsgate roars with 24 Emmy nominations

    Lionsgate roars with 24 Emmy nominations

    MUMBAI: Lionsgate’s series Orange Is The New Black, Mad Men, Nurse Jackie and Manhattan, and its limited series Houdini earned a total of 24 Emmy nominations.

     

    These include an eighth consecutive Outstanding Drama Series nomination for four-time Emmy winner Mad Men (AMC); a Drama Series nomination for Orange Is The New Black (Netflix); and four lead acting nominations including Mad Men’s Jon Hamm (his eighth consecutive drama nod) and Elisabeth Moss (her fifth nomination in this category), Nurse Jackie’s Edie Falco (an Emmy winner and six-time nominee for this role), and Adrien Brody, who landed his first Emmy nomination for Houdini.

     

    Mad Men’s 11 nominations also include nods for Christina Hendricks as Supporting Actress (her sixth nomination), two Writing nominations, as well as nods for Production Design, Casting, Editing, Hairstyling and Makeup.

     

    Orange Is The New Black scored a total of four nominations, including nods for Uzo Aduba as Supporting Actress, Pablo Schreiber as Guest Actor, and Casting, along with its Drama Series nomination.

     

    In addition to Edie Falco’s nomination for Nurse Jackie and Adrien Brody’s nomination for Houdini, Lionsgate picked up six additional Houdini nods in the Directing, Cinematography, Picture Editing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Makeup categories, as well as a Main Title Design nomination for Manhattan. 

     

    “We’re extremely proud of our incredible roster of nominated shows and we thank the TV Academy for this tremendous recognition. These nominations underscore our commitment to producing highly entertaining and original programs that resonate deeply with viewers and inspire broader cultural conversation,” said Lionsgate Television Group chairman Kevin Beggs. 

  • Netflix launches service in Cuba

    Netflix launches service in Cuba

    MUMBAI:  Netflix, the Internet film and TV subscription service, will offer a broad range of great global entertainment to Cuban consumers as Internet access improves and credit and debit cards become more widely available.

     

    Starting 9 February, people in Cuba with Internet connections and access to international payment methods will be able to subscribe to Netflix and instantly watch a curated selection of popular movies and TV shows.

     

    Among the premium and unique Netflix series available will be the Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning series House of Cards and Orange is the New Black; the global adventure Marco Polo, kids shows like DreamWorks Animation’s All Hail King Julien and The Adventures of Puss in Boots and Academy Award-nominated original documentaries including Virunga and The Square. Netflix will also offer a wide range of films, series and kids programming, as it does throughout Latin America.

     

    “We are delighted to finally be able to offer Netflix to the people of Cuba, connecting them with stories they will love from all over the world. Cuba has great filmmakers and a robust arts culture and one day we hope to be able to bring their work to our global audience of over 57 million members,” said Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings.

     

    Since launching its online service in 2007, Netflix has revolutionized the way people enjoy entertainment. With a constantly improving user experience, advanced personalization technology and a curated selection of films and TV series, members are able to create their own viewing experience and can easily discover new favorites, while reconnecting with popular characters and stories.

     

    Netflix began offering its service in Latin America in 2011 and now counts over five million members, enjoying millions of hours of films and TV series for a low monthly price.

  • Netflix CEO Reed Hastings believes free-to-air TV will be extinct by 2030

    Netflix CEO Reed Hastings believes free-to-air TV will be extinct by 2030

    NEW DELHI: At a time when Prasar Bharati CEO has said Doordarshan’s future lies in Freedish, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has said that “the age of broadcast TV will probably last until 2030.”

     

    Speaking at a Netflix event in Mexico City, Hastings compared broadcast television to the horse and cart and said it will simply be a ‘casualty of evolution’. “It’s kind of like the horse, you know, the horse was good until we had the car,” he commented. Hastings has expressed his thoughts on the death of linear TV before, predicting in April 2013 that it would be replaced by online TV.

     

    The current model of TV programming distribution will be broken and non-existent within the next decade and a half, he further said.

     

    Hastings told reporters that he thinks the current system where television channels are grouped into free-to-air network television and premium cable channels is becoming obsolete.

     

    Recent data suggests Netflix makes up more than a third of all internet traffic in North America during peak periods. That’s far more than any other source, and an indication of the type of heft that the once upstart company now has in the content game.

     

    Netflix no longer breaks out its Canadian subscriber numbers separately, but boasts more than 34 million households in the United States— comparable to the reach of many television networks.

     

    To keep up with that growth and pay for exclusive content like Orange Is the New Black, the company recently announced a price increase of between $1 and $2 a month for new customers.

     

    The company showed off its disruptive influence in the industry in the summer in a testy exchange between a Netflix executive and the CRTC, which was demanding that the company hand over reams of subscriber data — something the company says it has no legal obligation to do.

     

    That exchange came as the regulator was looking into changing the rules on “bundling” cable whereby customers are forced to pay for packages of channels — as opposed to picking and choosing the ones they want.

     

    Although Netflix is the giant of the streaming space, others exist. Earlier this year Rogers and Shaw launched Shomi, a streaming service that’s meant to rival Netflix.

     

    Ratings company, Nielsen, is going to start tracking Netflix viewing in its ratings numbers, something it hasn’t done before.

     

    Although Netflix likes to boast about the popularity of its shows, Hastings downplayed the significance of Nielsen’s move because, by the company’s own admission, it will not include mobile usage.

     

    “It’s not very relevant,” Hastings said and added, “There’s so much viewing that happens on a mobile phone or an iPad that (the new ratings]) won’t capture.”

  • “Asia is a priority market for Lionsgate”: Kevin Beggs

    “Asia is a priority market for Lionsgate”: Kevin Beggs

    CANNES: Lionsgate is scrutinising the Asian market.  For the company which has been in the channel business in Asia through joint ventures for the past five years, the region now features in the priority market list.

     

    Addressing the audience at MIPCOM 2014, Lionsgate chairman Kevin Beggs said that with its Hong Kong office, the company is also pushing into India. “Shows like Orange is the New Black in China represent a huge revenue growth for us, which before was pretty close to nothing,” he said, adding that while the region is temperamental in a way, it is also very promising.

     

    The theatrical side of Lionsgate is in deep discussions about bringing more films into Asia. “We are looking at developing shows that could find itself in the market now. It’s a priority for the company, but it is also an emerging market for us, that will go a long way at making us strong, and we are focused on it,” informed Beggs.  

     

    Lionsgate, the creators of ‘Orange is the New Black’, ‘Manhattan’, ‘Mad Men’ is a firm believer of having a global look, while making a show. “Both Mad Men and Orange Is The New Black are high quality shows, which we were hoping would be liked by the global audiences. It has exceeded expectations,” he said.

     

    The company keeps its eyes open for finding great partnerships across the globe. “We are talking to people all the time. We are finding the perfect shows that we can co-commission or commission simply for the UK or Germany or France pay market. It is a high priority for us,” informed Beggs.

     

    Lionsgate has auctioned many formats so far in different markets. “We always look for the right thing to adapt,” he added.

     

    Beggs also touched upon the streaming services that have started playing a key role. “While television has ad breaks with 42 or 43 minutes of drama, the streaming services have no advertising obligation. And they have a much longer running time and no breaks. The storytelling of ‘Orange is the New Black’ on Netflix is very different. It takes a lot of digressions on the shows, and because people will re-watch, one has a lot of freedom to tell a story in a much more serialised and novelised way. There is no need for a dramatic ending before a commercial break, so that people can come back. So the pacing is interesting from our standpoint as well,” he said.

     

    He feels that in a scenario like this, the writers have to do a great job and also as producers “we need to understand the audience and what would hold them back. Audiences can watch the whole season of a series in a few hours and would wait for the next season, which would take a year. So this is different,” he informed.

     

    Beggs believes that there will be more streaming players in the future. “It the next two years or so, there will be six to seven new streaming services or may be more,” he stated. Citing the reason for the change, which could see some big players jumping into it, he said that streaming business, on a pay basis, does not need a huge number of subscribers to breakeven.  “Brands will follow where the audiences are,” he concluded.

     

  • I want to restore choice and option for consumers, says Netflix’s Ted Sarandos

    I want to restore choice and option for consumers, says Netflix’s Ted Sarandos

    CANNES: For Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos this is the golden age of storytelling. Sarandos was giving a keynote on day two of MIPCOM 2014.

     

    Talking about Netflix and its engagement with the audience, he said, “We have been able to innovate and advance technology that favours the consumer. We have been able to innovate the audience, who are on-demand viewers.”

     

    Netflix which has 50 million paid subscribers in 40 countries, recently launched in France and Germany. Talking about the viewership pattern Sarandos said, “We have been very encouraged with viewing behaviour in France and unsurprisingly, Orange is the New Black is the most watched show in France and Germany for Netflix, in the first couple of weeks and we are excited about it since the shows have not been previously available in these markets.”

     

    According to Sarandos, what works for Netflix is the fact that it caters to the desire of people who have heard about shows, but not been able to see it. 

     

    Netflix offers 70 per cent TV shows and 30 per cent movies, “and that’s the way people watch as well,” he informed.

     

    On his catalogue being small at the time of launch, he said, “What we launch within a new territory is half of the programming that the territory will have in the next 12 months. And we are literally adding content everyday wherever we launch.”

     

    For Sarandos, it is each passing day that gives him the idea of the viewing habits of consumers. “So what you see at the launch is what we know pretty much about the market without even being there and then depending on the viewing behavior, we licence content that people want to see.  So it is an intentional move to launch with less content,” he added.

     

    Netflix also recently launched in Germany and talking about the lessons from the market he said that viewing hours per subscriber was very impressive.

     

    The platform offers consumers the level of choice that they haven’t seen yet. “So while there are a lot of pre-conceived notions, one needs to have dubbed content while also have subtitled programming.”

     

    The platform may also have plans for original French production. “We have found large audiences for existing French content around the world already. We have started working with French animation houses for co-productions,” he said while adding that they have already aggregated a lot of audiences around the world for French shows.  

    So is the business profitable overseas? Answered Sarandos, “We are investing continuously in expansion, we want to be a global company. We are at serious investment phase.”

     

    Sarandos believes that Netflix is a destination for content, for ability to choose and enjoy in one’s own timetable.

     

    The platform which is now also moving into making movies, but doesn’t get involved in writing the script, aims to be active on distribution. “We pick storytellers and let them tell the stories. We don’t dictate creative storytelling,” he said.

     

    Netflix doesn’t want to kill windowing, instead wants to restore choice and option. He also touched upon the point of Netflix’s data analytics. “We use the data to help determine the potential size of the show. The ability to invest in the show was because of the data we had. We didn’t use the data to influence the creative of the show,” he clarified. 

     

    Will Netflix move to sports and news as well? Sarandos quickly said, “It is on-demand that makes Netflix desirable and sports and news are linear events, so we can’t do anything interesting in sports and news right now.”

  • Netflix crosses 40 million subscribers base in Q3

    Netflix crosses 40 million subscribers base in Q3

    MUMBAI: Netflix has announced its third-quarter results. The OTT platform that has added 1.3 million US subscribers-11 per cent higher than the prior year Q3, now has a total US base of 31.09 million subscribers.

    Internationally, net additions were significantly up from the prior year at 1.4 million new members, driven by the company’s expansion to the Nordics and the Netherlands. In addition, there was a surge in low-quality free trials in September in Latin America that temporarily boosted the total member number.

    Together Netflix’ total global base is just over 40 million, a 25 per cent increase year-over-year.

    Netflix expects Q4 net additions to be approximately equal to Q4 of the prior year.

    Revenue-wise the streamer continues to show thinnish margins thanks to the amount that it spends on content acquisition, bringing in $32 million of profit on $1.106 billion revenue. In Q4 it expects to expand its contribution margin about 400 basis points year-over-year to about 23 per cent.

    “That means that sequentially our target contribution margin is slightly down Q3 to Q4,” the company said in its earnings statement. “As a reminder, we shifted our contribution margin target a few months ago from ‘100 basis points of quarterly sequential improvement’ to ‘400 basis points Q over prior year Q’, so we are right on target with our articulated margin growth strategy. Our $7.99 price is working very well for us for both membership growth and contribution margin growth.”

    When it comes to its content strategy, the original series get most of the headlines, but the company said that a bigger percentage of overall Netflix viewing is generated by its exclusive complete season-after series. During the quarter, it launched new seasons of The New Girl, The Walking Dead, Scandal, Breaking Bad, Revolution and Pretty Little Liars.

    However, original content remains a top priority, it said. “Over the next few years we aspire to support creation of some of the most compelling and remarkable content ever produced. Coupled with the flexibility of our internet viewing and power of our personal recommendations we will keep changing television for the better.”

    Orange is the New Black has been a tremendous success for the company and will end the year as its most watched original series ever and, “as with each of our other previously launched originals, enjoys an audience comparable with successful shows on cable and broadcast TV. We have seen sustained social media buzz in the months after its debut and it is also one of the most critically well received TV shows of 2013,” it added.

    In addition to Orange is the New Black, during Q3 Netflix launched the new Ricky Gervais series Derek and broadened its original content offering with the acquisition of stand-up comedy specials from Russell Peters and Aziz Ansari, premiering exclusively on Netflix in October and November, respectively. It also rolled out a second set of episodes of Mako Mermaids, our original series directed at the teen audience, and will soon expand into original documentaries, a category that does well on the Netflix service.

    “This quarter we will premiere our inaugural second season of a Netflix original series with the return of Lilyhammer starring Steven Van Zandt,” the company said. “We will also be launching our first animated original series with Dreamworks Animation, Turbo F.A.S.T.”