Reed Hastings Talks Netflix Content Plans: More Exclusives, No Tiered Pricing (Yet)

Even though Netflix's first-quarter earnings came in ahead of analyst expectations, CEO Reed Hastings still had to answer plenty of (usually skeptical) questions during this afternoon's earnings conference call about how he plans to expand the company's streaming content library. Hastings has already talked about how the streaming strategy will differ from Netflix's past, emphasizing a narrower selection of exclusive and original content rather than the more comprehensive selection that the service had with DVDs. He elaborated on that idea today, once again comparing Netflix to cable: "It's a natural outcome of us been a network like any other cable network." He says it's normal for a network to start out with "low-end, nonexclusive content," then, as it tries to bid for more premium content like Mad Men (Hastings described it as moving up in "the content-buying economic strata"), it's essentially competing with other cable networks for exclusive syndication rights. You can expect to see that trend continue, Hastings said, but there will always be "a broad range of nonexclusive content."

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