Netflix takes over one of Hollywood’s first movie studios
HOLLYWOOD – To really understand how streaming giant Netflix has changed the nature of entertainment, look no further than its new home base here, the Sunset Bronson studios.
This was the site of one of the first movie studios, opened in 1919 by Jack, Harry, Sam and Albert Warner to be the home of Warner Bros.
Cut to 99 years later. Now the studio has been taken over by Netflix to shoot its evergrowing library of TV shows, like The Ranch starring Ashton Kutcher and the comedy series Alexa and Katie.
The Los Gatos, Calif.-based company invited reporters to visit Tuesday to offer a window into how it produces shows in
4K ultra-high-definition resolution and dubs them for other countries, and to showcase how big of a player it has become in Tinseltown.
Netflix now has eight of the
10 sound stages at Sunset Bronson filled. The company said it’s spending $8 billion to finance original productions. It has also leased two stages at the nearby Sunset Gower Studios and said it will be looking for more.
The company that used to be best known from the days of mailing DVDs in red envelopes dominates streaming. It’s everything HBO once wanted to be — a monthly premium subscription offering of commercial-free movies and original productions. Unlike HBO, Netflix doesn’t have to share its profits with a middleman — i.e, the cable operator.
Netflix now has 117 million subscribers worldwide and pulled in $11 billion in revenue for 2017. By comparison, HBO has just more than 140 million subscribers. At the event, CEO Reed Hastings predicted Netflix will grow to $15 billion in revenue in 2018.
Although Netflix is primarily a streaming company now, some 3.3 million customers still subscribed to the DVD service as of last year.
Hastings said the DVD audience is primarily one that’s rural or serious film buffs. He said he’s in no hurry to get rid of it — and could see it lasting for at least another five years.
At the tour, Hastings was asked about the recent Netflix deal with TV producer Ryan Murphy ( Glee, The People v. O.J.
Netflix now has eight of the 10 sound stages at Sunset Bronson filled.
Simpson) that was reported as worth $300 million, another example of Netflix paying big dollars to compete with talent vs. the traditional TV networks and studios. Was he worried he overpaid?
“We always worry about overpaying,” he said. “It’s a big step for us, a big, concentrated commitment. It has good odds for success. We’re trying to make many bets. Some of our content won’t work, but we’re willing to try.”
Netflix’s growth is being fueled by original shows like The Crown and Orange Is the New Black.
It’s competing with Amazon and the Prime Video service, which has shows like Transparent and Bosch, and has recently beefed up its executive ranks, hiring the former head of entertainment from NBC to run its division. Apple is also looking to compete with Netflix and Amazon.
The company, which hasn’t said what it will do with the shows, plans to produce a new series from director Steven Spielberg and has a comedy on tap starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon.
Of Netflix’s most active streaming-video rival, Amazon, Hastings said he was unconcerned.
“With all these media companies, it’s a competitive market. Tune everyone out, stay focused, if we produce great series and movies, people will love us. If we get distracted and try to copy others, we’ll never succeed at that,” he said.
Hastings said it was great that Netflix has had an early success. His worry is that the company rests on its laurels. “We have to fight to do a little more, to tell the most bold stories we can.”