Netflix is a service that most of us can no longer imagine we didn’t have. With its wide range of films and a lot of original series, this VOD service has become a regular destination in the daily lives of many. The company was founded in 1997. This documentary looks at this video on demand giant and in particular how it has succeeded in becoming so successful.
It all started with Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings who had a long drive to work every day and constantly were brainstorming ideas that would help them start their own business. One idea was to send films to customers, but because there were no DVDs at the time, the idea was pushed aside because videotapes were too fragile and they continued thinking of other things. A few years later, they returned to the idea when the DVD was in development. They tested the idea by mailing a CD, saw that it remained intact, and started their business. Marc Randolph and various other (former) employees of Netflix talk about those early days and how the transition to an online platform went.
Although the documentary is called Netflix vs. The World, it is really about how the company fought the most successful video chain at the time, Blockbuster. Employees of that company talk about how they initially ignored Netflix, slowly had to take steps and eventually set up their own VOD service. The bizarre thing about the story is that because of its combination of physical video libraries, sending DVDs and a VOD service, Blockbuster was much stronger and would have been able to beat Netflix. Still, that’s not what happened and it is made clear that bad management decisions ultimately killed the company. This documentary manages to show the origins of Netflix and the challenges they have had over the years, including mistakes that were made. A piece of history that not everyone will know and is fascinating to hear about.
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