Netflix, Inc. is an American entertainment services provider inLos Gatos, California, founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California. As of April 2019, Netflix had over 148 million paid subscriptions worldwide, including 60 million in the United States, and over 154 million subscriptions total including free trials. It was started inCalifornia in 1997. It allows members to rent movies onDVD orBlu-ray, and also watch movies andTV shows online with acomputer,game console,smartphone, tablet orInternet-connected TV.
Netflix originally started as a DVD sales and rental by mail then switched to focus on the DVD rental business. In 2007, Netflix expended their business with streaming media.
Since December 2018, Netflix provided their first interactive film, calledBlack Mirror: Bandersnatch. On January 22, 2019, Netflix became the first streaming service to become a member of theMotion Picture Association of America (MPAA).[6][7] Netflix entered the content-production industry in 2012, debuting its first seriesLilyhammer This introduced the "Netflix Original" content and its on online library. In 2016, Netflix released around 126 original series and films. Netflix is not available in mainlandChina (due to local restrictions) as well asSyria,North Korea,Iran, andCrimea (due to US sanctions).
The company's primary business is its subscription-based streaming which offers online streaming of a library of films, TV programs, and Netflix originals.
In 2020 Netflix was preparing to launch NetFX, a cloud-based platform to make it easier for artists, and creators to keep connected and collaborate on visual effects for titles on Netflix.[8]
Netflix has exclusivepay TV deals with several studios. The deals give Netflix exclusive streaming rights while following the structures of traditional pay TV terms.
In 2012 Netflix negotiated a deal to distribute animated films from Universal that HBO declined to acquire, such asThe Lorax,ParaNorman, andMinions.[20]
In 2013 Netflix acquired the U.S. rights to show eight television shows from Warner Bros., includingThe West Wing.[21]
In 2020 Netflix made a deal for the exclusive streaming rights to the film library ofStudio Ghibli (exceptGrave of the Fireflies) worldwide except in the U.S. and Japan as part of an agreement signed with Ghibli's international sales rights holderWild Bunch.[22]
In 2024, Netflix expanded on a previous deal with Universal to show the studio's live action movies in addition to animated movies within the first pay TV window after theatrical release, which went into effect in 2026, a year earlier than previously announced.[23][24]
In 2025 Netflix announced a three month deal withAmazon MGM to show theJames Bond film collection and other titles for a limited time.[25]
In 2026, Netflix announced a new global deal withSony Pictures to show its movies in the first pay TV window rolling out from 2027 to 2029, expanding on a previous deal limited to the United States only.[26]
In 2025 and 2026, several Warner Bros. television titles became newly available in the U.S. and internationally, includingThe West Wing returning to the service after being removed in 2020.[27][28]
