Introduction.
In this blog post I will be researching Netflix, the company chosen as the “client” for our A1 Fantasy brief. The brief is to create a 15 second long intro sequence for a made up fantasy TV show to pitch to Netflix.
Overview of Netflix.
Netflix is a streaming service that was originally created in 1997 as a company that rented films to people by sending them a DVD in the mail. 10 years later, in 2007, Netflix introduced their streaming on demand service onto their website – which is what they are most known for as a company today. This idea of being able to pay monthly for access to a website where you can stream thousands of movies and tv shows is their Unique Selling Point, and has helped them to become one of the biggest corporations in the media sector, if not one of the biggest corporations in the world. Their formula of streaming service has effectively created other streaming services to stand as competitors, such as Amazon Prime and Hulu – most films and TV being consumed in the present day are from streaming services and they are extremely profitable platforms for Hollywood.
Netflix’s Audience.
Netflix’s main audience are young people, as according to Izeyodiase.com 24% of Netflix subscribers are between the ages of 18 and 24. I think that this is because older people are generally more likely to stick to watching films and tv with older methods which they are more familiar with – like DVDs or watching TV series as they air on television channels. However this is beginning to change, as according to an article published by The Guardian in July of this year, Netflix are beginning to target older viewers with their advertising, because a lot of younger people are already subscribed to Netflix – causing a decrease in the amount of new subscribers this year.
As for Netflix’s target audience’s income, I think that Netflix markets their platform to the BBC class system’s established middle class and technical middle class people, who have enough disposable income to buy a premium Netflix subscription at £13.99 per month, as this is what makes Netflix the most profit. (that’s £167.88 per year)
According to the same source from Izeyodiase.com, a digital marketing website, the overwhelming majority of Netflix’s viewers are from the USA, and Canada. This table below shows this. This means that Netflix would generally market their shows to people in the US and Canada, because that’s where most of their revenue comes from. I’m sure that because of this, most Netflix Originals are made in English, with other language options provided as subtitles or dubs as most people in Canada and the US speak English.
As for the interests of Netflix’s target audience, I think that they market towards people who enjoy watching TV shows and movies, because it would be a waste of time to market TV shows and movies to someone who wasn’t interested in TV shows and movies. They employ similar marketing strategies of traditional media corporations – such as advertising with posters, billboards and trailers for their upcoming productions.
Netflix Content and Originals.
Netflix hosts a huge library of TV shows and Movies, with the catalogue continually changing as they lose and gain the licenses to air different pieces of media. One group of TV shows and Movies that are guaranteed to stay on Netflix, however, is their selection of Netflix Originals.
In 2013, Netflix debuted its first original series ‘House of Cards’. This was the first series that was completely funded and produced by Netflix, and since then the company has gone on to produce some of the most popular TV shows of the 21st century as Netflix originals. TV shows such as: Squid Game, Stranger Things, Better Call Saul, Orange is the New Black and The Crown – to name a few.
More recently, Netflix has been investing more in animation – producing some popular animated shows such as Castlevania, the reboot of She-Ra, the reboot of Voltron, Arcane and many others. This makes Netflix one of the go-to options for studios to pitch a new show to, because of it’s popularity and openness to new ideas. It is also one of the most suitable clients for this fantasy brief, as I (as well as many other students) will be animating my intro.
Conclusion
In this blog, I have analysed Netflix’s history as a platform, its catalogue of content, Netflix originals and Netflix’s target audience. All of this information will help me to create my own target audience, and use inspiration from other Netflix original shows to create my final fantasy intro sequence.
sources:
https://izeyodiase.com/netflix-user-demographics-comparing-behavior-and-characteristics/