Netflix continued its international expansion by launching in the Netherlands late Tuesday night, where consumers can now subscribe to the service for €7.99 a month (about $ 10.61). With the launch in the Netherlands, Netflix is now available in more than 40 countries, including Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the U.K. and Sweden.
Like any of the company’s other international offerings, the launch in the Netherlands is streaming-only. But unlike previous launches, Netflix is heavily using its original content to promote the service.
Dutch press has been invited to a news event Wednesday that will feature Hemlock Grove star Famke Janssen, who was born in Amsterdam, alongside of Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, and a press release sent out to announce the launch prominently mentions Netflix shows like House of Cards, Arrested Development and Orange is the New Black as some of the content available to Dutch subscribers.
Other content mentioned notably includes high-profile Showtime dramas like Dexter and Homeland, which both aren’t available to U.S. subscribers.
Netflix has slowed down its international expansion in recent months, with the Netherlands marking the only country that Netflix set up shop this year. In 2011, Netflix rolled out its service in almost all of Latin America and the Caribbean, and in 2012, it expanded into a total of six European countries.
This slowdown has in part to do with costs, which investors have been concerned about. However, the choice of the Netherlands also seem to point towards a more focused approach, with Netflix looking for markets that offer the best opportunities for growth. Hastings mentioned as a key factor for the choice of this new market in the company’s launch press release, which quotes him saying:
“The Dutch have incredible broadband, but until today have not been able to take full advantage of their fast connections.”
Netflix didn’t officially announce a launch date for the Netherlands ahead of time, but didn’t exactly put a lot of effort into keeping it a secret either: Apps for the service started popping up on various app stores earlier this week, and local press had been speculating about a launch on Wednesday for some time.
Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.
- Smart TV forecast: gigabit Wi-Fi in the living room
- Where the next-generation console fits in today’s video game market
- How consumer media will change in 2013