geekosystem

Last night was the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner, or "Nerd Prom" as it's jokingly called. Besides a performance by talk show host Conan O'Brien, the dinner also featured a parody of the Netflix series House of Cards with the star of the show Kevin Spacey reprising his role as Frank Underwood. The clip features a number of political figures playing themselves, and also a Big Gulp.

Here's a sentence that has so many great things in it, it's almost unbelievable: The Wachowskis will be teaming up with J. Michael Straczynski and Netflix to produce a new sci-fi series called Sense8. Remember yesterday when I said if Spotify is going to get into video production they need to do it really well? This is the kind of thing I meant.

Spotify has all but eliminated my need to ever buy music. For a few bucks a month I can queue up practically any song I can think of and rock out. Now they supposedly want to bring that same level of convenience to video. Reports say Spotify is going to launch a video streaming service like Netflix that will offer original content -- also like Netflix. That's all well and good, but I already have Netflix.

Netflix went out on a limb with original programming when they decided to bring House of Cards to the table. It might seem obvious now to some, but there was a time not that long ago when original programming  for purely digital outlets seemed out of place to many. Netflix reportedly hasn't given exact numbers, but they have said that it's their most-watched show. According to research from Cowen and Company, a financial services firm, it looks like Netflix's original content offering might be doing rather well for itself.

The one criticism that Netflix critics can successfully make against the video-on-demand service is that it's slow: Top-shelf new movies and TV series tend to take a long time to come to Netflix-by-mail, much less Netflix streaming. Which is why the latest reports on Netflix's entry into the original programming space are so intriguing: Netflix's reported big-bucks purchase of a high-end drama series starring Kevin Spacey and directed by David Fincher could signal a plan to move towards the cutting edge of entertainment by getting into the original content business. Titled House of Cards, the series in question is based on a political thriller and 1990 British miniseries of the same. Deadline reports that Netflix outbid both HBO and AMC for the rights to the show, and that Netflix could be paying up more than $100 million; however, the Wall Street Journal reports that talks are still in advanced stages, and that Netflix "is likely to pay much less than [$100 million." WSJ:

Netflix's bid to license original content could prove disruptive to established players in home entertainment, who also charge monthly fees for programming. Netflix's cheaper prices and ability to deliver programming when and where users want it could make the company a potent challenger. Until now, however, Netflix has largely relied on cheaper content—such as older studio movies and TV shows—for its streaming service, rather than pay the premium prices that new movies or original series command.

If Netflix does get the rights to House of Cards, it'll be a blow at HBO, to which it is increasingly being described as a rival service; earlier this year, HBO pooh-poohed talk of its content appearing on Netflix, saying the only way it would allow Netflix to carry its programming would be if Netflix raised its monthly fees from $7.99/month to at least $20/month. (Deadline via SAI)