With original series and films adding to all of the licensed TV shows and movies available in its vast library, Netflix is the undisputed king of streaming services. Sadly for many international TV and film fans, however, there were plenty of markets in which Netflix was not available for quite some time. Fortunately for those folks, Neflix has now launched its service globally, bringing streaming video to more than 130 new countries.
No, that’s not a typo that added an extra 0. Thanks to the global launch that has added these 130 new nations to Netflix’s pool of potential subscribers, there are currently upwards of 190 nations with access to the streaming service. Now, it will be possible for awkward silences all over the world to be broken up by chatter about Netflix originals.
Well, almost all over the world. Netflix has not yet been able to work out a deal to expand to China, and service will remain unavailable to Crimea, North Korea, and Syria due to government restrictions. Still, a few exceptions don't dampen the good news.
Luckily for the folks of these 130 new countries who undoubtedly do not all speak English, Netflix has an impressive selection of alternate languages available for much of its content. In addition to the 17 languages already supported prior to this latest expansion, Netflix has added Arabic, Korean, and Simplified and Traditional Chinese.
Basically, kind of a lot has happened for Netflix in the nine years since streaming became an option for viewing. Originating solely in the U.S. for its mail order option, Netflix expanded first into Canada before moving to Latin America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.
Part of what has allowed Netflix to become so successful has been its ability to adapt to changes in technology and use unconventional methods to reach bigger audiences, and there’s no arguing with the numbers that point to Netflix continuing to dominate competition online and off. Even the excellent Amazon Prime and Hulu can’t come close to matching Netflix, and the company earned a higher market worth in the first quarter of 2015 than CBS!
Numbers aside, Netflix's expansion to 130 new countries may help the rest of the world begin to understand just why binge-watching has practically become a national pastime in the U.S. whenever a new original series is released. After all, patience is not a virtue when there's an entire season of Daredevil waiting to be watched.
There’s no doubt that Netflix will keep on growing as long as its originals continue to be smash successes. With everything from Season 4 of House of Cards to a Baz Luhrmann musical extravaganza to the classic sitcom continuation Fuller House in the not-too-distant future, the global expansion has come just in time.
