Netflix: In the future, linear channels will become Internet channels

In his visit to Argentina, Reed Hastings, Netflix CEO, gave a talk in which he mentioned that Internet TV has three main improvements compared to traditional television: It is on demand; it can be seen in different screens and it can be personalized, according to tastes and preferences. “In the next 10 or 20 years, people will spend more time on the Internet and less time on linear TV”, he expressed.A few years ago, they began investing in original production to become owners of all the rights and have the first windows.“We realized that if we wanted our programming to be available at a global scale we had to do it ourselves. We began with House of Cards and are now producing a great range of series and films for all segments. This is just the start, because as we grow, we will produce more content”, he explained. He said they produced their first original series in Mexico and Colombia; they are shooting in Brazil and evaluating projects in Argentina. “We know there are lots of contents we don´t have in Netflix but as we continue growing, we will keep adding. We have contributed to lower piracy, because if there is variety and quality at a reasonable price, people are willing to pay”, he added.Regarding linear channels, his opinion is that in the future they will become Internet channels and posed BBC as an example, for they began with a service available on demand and currently have more TV viewers via the Internet than through the channel.