Reed Hastings: Netflix is EU’s ‘biggest builder of cross-European culture’

Netflix has become the “biggest builder of cross-European culture” in the European Union, founder Reed Hastings has claimed.

Speaking at an event promoting the streaming giant at its EMEA headquarters in Amsterdam today, Hastings talked up his surprise at Netflix’s soft power in the region, suggesting the SVoD’s localised programming strategy, delivered to global audiences, had fuelled “cross-fertilisation of content” more than existing broadcasters and media companies.

“The amazing thing has been [witnessing] how many Germans watch Spanish series, how many Italians watch Spanish series. We didn’t set out to do it, but we’ve become the biggest builder of cross-European culture in the EU,” he told delegates, which included foreign dignitaries, politicians and press.

“Partially, because the other networks are more national and specialise in one language group. We specialise in connecting – and [love] the power in that. The unexpected part has been that cross-fertilisation in the EU.”

Hastings, who now serves as executive chair at Netflix having stepped down from his role as co-chief executive in January, has frequently made combative statements in opposition to EU directives for mandatory VoD content quotas, stating such approaches hamper “both the customer experience and creativity”.

In highlighting Netflix’s impact today, he added it was “ironic it’s a US company” that helped create such a collaborative, cultural landscape in Europe.

Greg Peters targets tech dominance

Hastings was joined in the fireside conversation, moderated by Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands, by freshly minted co-chief executive Greg Peters, who was upped from his role as chief product officer to share the reins with incumbent co-chief Ted Sarandos.

Peters said that after strong fourth quarter results, Netflix is aiming to “focus on what really matters”, which is telling “incredible stories”.

“We’re a culture of reinvention and constantly seeking excellence, and there’s two things we hold as religion and that’s member satisfaction and profit. If you have that as the centre of your focus, you [will naturally] be constantly challenging yourself in what you need to do,” he said.

He said Netflix’s expansion into its ad-supported tiers was contributing to this culture, as well as its focus on being a leader in harnessing technology such as cloud-based editing platforms to aid the creative process and allow storytellers to have a “better experience and broader creative palette”.

Hastings said Netflix would continue to take risks in its content and technological advances saying he and his executives “thrive on it”.

“Risk is like oxygen,” he said. “If you look at the originals we’ve been doing: whoever set up production in 40 different countries around the world?”

Peters concurred, saying he wanted to maintain a culture where the “risk appetite stays sharp, and we’re hungry”.

“Our job is to not get complacent and not worry about the success we’ve already created inhibiting us from taking new risks, whether that’s moving into [different] original programming or international expansion.”

Netflix has broken “longstanding stereotypes”

Earlier in the day, EMEA vice-president of content Larry Tanz said Netflix’s expansion in the territory had helped shatter “longstanding stereotypes” that audiences from certain territories only watched specific programming, like those from the Nordics only enjoying dark Nordic Noir. He said members “on average watch six different genres every month”, spread across documentaries, reality, thriller, comedy, anime, action, sci-fi and more.

The Amsterdam office, which he oversees, has executives from over 50 countries, including the teams for Benelux, the Middle East and Africa.

“What we’ve learned is to have authentic storytelling, we need to have representation behind and in front of the camera to reflect our audiences,” he said.

Tanz announced the EMEA hub’s latest titles, comedy features The Dadchelor and Bad Boa’s.

The Dadchelor, from creators Jon Karthaus and Daan van den Nouweland, tells the story of uber-responsible Mark, who is about to become a father and goes on a seemingly innocent Dadchelor weekend, that spirals out of control and even puts the life of his friends on the line. It is produced by Johnnywood and NRG Productions.

Bad Boa’s, made in collaboration with Dutch comedian Jandino Asporaat, follows Ramon, a well-meaning but barely effective BOA (special officers who help the police to supervise local order and safety), who is told that he has a terminal illness and wants to spend the days before his death making his neighborhood liveable. When he and his partner accidentally get their hands on a major drug bust, Ramon sees it as an opportunity to take out a drug gang. Huntu produces in a collaboration with Het Huis van Asporaat and Kaap Holland Film.