NETFLIX
Netflix is a subscription-based online platform, on which you can see movies and series in HD
quality. But this was not always the case, Netflix originally started in 1997, at that time there
was no concept of digital subscriptions, so they used to send out DVDs to their subscribers as
they demanded it. It was until 2007 that Netflix started streaming online, for most of their
subscription plans, streaming was unlimited.
About the audience:
Netflix’s audience can be called a transnational audience. A transnational audience is those who
watch foreign content or diasporic content. These audiences enjoy both mainstream media
around them and cultural content from other areas. Hence Netflix has a hold of consumers
from every race, culture, and age group.
Target Audience:
Netflix is mostly popular with the younger generation according to the surveys held on august
2021 in the US. Around 75% of the consumers were between the age of 18-34-years-old and
72% were between 35-44-years-old. The content on Netflix is mostly based on the younger
generations. Most of the Netflix originals had their content based on younger generations. In
other words, the majority of Netflix consumers are from the Gen Z population.
Similarities:
Since Netflix is a movie//Tv series platform, their audience can be a little similar to that of
Spotify. Netflix is a platform for watching movies and TV series whereas Spotify is of music. The
content of both organizations belongs to the media industry which is where their similarities
occur.
The architecture on the backhand of both companies is somewhat similar. Netflix has a fairly
decentralized engineering culture, and according to Spotify, their culture is about the same.
If we talk about system architecture then both companies have almost the same challenges.
They both mainly have similar challenges to problems of content discovery, security of data,
personalization, scale, etc.
Business model:
The subscription-based content of unlimited watch time is one of its major attractions. The fee
of Netflix is affordable which explains that it is a leading streaming service.
To keep its consumers interested in the subscription and to attract more consumers, Netflix
launched several exclusive contents that were available only on Netflix.
They even launched a contest back in 2006 where the winner got 1 million dollars. The idea for
this competition was to get a better insight into the consumer’s choices and to find a better
recommendation algorithm for themselves.
Another step Netflix took was the concept of “binge-watch”. Netflix releases the whole season
of a series on a single day so the consumers don’t have to wait every week for a single episode.
From this, the viewership increases, and more subscriptions come in.
Decision making:
Netflix does not leave the decision-making to just the CEOs.
They use A/B testing, along with other casual methods like quasi-experimentation. They form
hypotheses, gather data, that provides evidence against their hypothesis, and if then the data
matches their needs they go through with it, else they generate a new hypothesis.
In other words, Netflix’s key decision-makers are a group of people who take inputs from
various people.
Mission statement:
“We promise our customers stellar service, our suppliers a valuable partner, our
investors the prospects of sustained profitable growth, and our employees the allure of
huge impact.”