Now streaming everywhere : an examination of Netflix’s global expansion

This thesis explores how Netflix’s market positioning strategies evolved as the company began expanding globally. Netflix began offering its streaming service outside of the United States in 2010, when the company introduced its service to the Canadian market. The company’s second wave of expansion began in 2011, when Netflix introduced its service to the “Latin American” market. During these first two waves of expansion, Netflix initially used U.S.-centric positioning strategies to introduce its service to these markets. However, after encountering problems in Brazil—Netflix’s biggest sub-market in the Latin American market—the company realized it had to shift from using U.S.-centric positioning strategies to using glocalized positioning strategies. As Netflix began this positioning shift, it also began employing a new tool to help execute its positioning strategies: original programing. Netflix used original programming as a way to position itself glocally as the company continued its international expansion efforts. This research considers the challenges Netflix began to face as it broadened its global expansion efforts and sought a larger subscription base. Ultimately, this thesis seeks to use Netflix’s international strategies as a means of understanding the larger transformations taking place within the television industry and as a means of understanding the evolution of cultural form in the post-network era.