Opening the Netflix availability map, we will notice that only five countries do not offer Netflix services: China, Crimea, North Korea, Russia, and Syria. As an international streaming company that offers a diverse and wide range of products and services, Netflix’s resources include award-winning TV programs, films, anime, documentaries and more on thousands of internet-connected devices.
In China, when people attempt to watch Netflix-published TV or film productions, most of them rely on private non-profit subtitle teams or pirated resources which are circulating on the internet, and those who can purchase a Netflix membership via VPN to watch them, but linking to a VPN is also an illegitimate device in China. It is a tricky reality that people ignore the fact that it is an infringement of copyright and even illegal, yet they seem to have implicitly accepted it, I assume that such behavior is exacerbated by the operating model of Chinese video platforms that rarely pay for content.
Looking at the composition of China’s local media industry, Netflix, as an independent streaming service platform, is unable to make TV or film investments in the mainland due to the law in China does not allow foreign companies to operate media enterprises in the territory. Furthermore, if Netflix produces cultural content divergent from the ideological stance of the Chinese mainland government, it will face constraints imposed by China’s National Radio and Television Administration, responsible for the distribution and supervision of cultural content. IQIYI, Tencent, Youku and Mango TV these four online video platforms have almost monopolized and shared the Chinese market. If Netflix joins in, it will disrupt the pre-existing balance of the business ecosystem and exacerbate the competition in the market. I suppose there is also a reason for Netflix to be rejected to enter the mainland for the protection of local enterprises in the domestic market.
I always regard TV or film productions as cultural works constructed on real society, and the cultural barrier between us and Netflix, which links the international TV and film market, is a frustrating experience. Meanwhile, the status quo also makes Mandarin works hardly integrate into the international mainstream cultural market, but Netflix will also release some mainland works on streaming.
For example, the Tencent-funded series ‘The Long Season’ will be shown on Netflix. Netflix has been investing in the global broadcasting rights of some Chinese films and TV shows, those works with Chinese cultural labels have tried to achieve cultural export in this way, but the majority have achieved little success.
Perhaps the reasons for the failure reveal why Netflix is so successful with a market of over 100 million members. ‘Netflix Originals’ productions are focused on content and scripts, rather than relying purely on user profiles or algorithms to formulate productions. Also, Netflix leaves the freedom of decision to the creators, therefore we can view extremely multi-dimensional themes and personalised works online. The representative episodes include ‘House of Cards’ with political elements, ‘Love, Death & Robots’ with surrealist animation, ‘Queer Eye’ with the perspective of a cool kid, and ‘Breaking Bad’ with the contrast between social roles and self-personality.
These marginal protagonists, open-scaled themes, and plots about political intrigue and other elements have a highly prospective degree of creativity and attempt to satisfy a multi-dimensional audience bias.
While Chinese productions purchased by Netflix may initially aim to satisfy overseas Chinese audiences, the quality of these series varies greatly and failed to reach the script quality of ‘Netflix Originals’.