Netflix wants to get into the documentary business; challenging current genre heavyweights like Vice Media in the process.
During the streaming giant's third quarter earnings call, CEO Reed Hastings and Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos made no mistake of who their target was.
"What's the likelihood that we compete with VICE in the next two years?" Asked Hastings.
"Probably high," was Sarandos' reply.
The two believe that the edgy news documentaries Vice is known for producing could be Netflix's ticket to attracting younger viewers.
These comments weren't lost on Vice founder Shane Smith, who tweeted out his little jab.
IFC parodies us. Netflix following us. MSM hates us. All we trying to do is not suck. https://t.co/iScyCzZOEw
— shane smith (@shanesmith30) October 14, 2015
Following this news, many in the media industry began speculating that the Vice comments signaled Netflix's intent to enter the news business. This illicited a response from Netflix's chief communications officer Jonathan Friedland, who downplayed the rumors on twitter.
@RichBTIG @netflix @HBO @VICE @shanesmith30 clarifying that we aren't doing news; but we've got that edgy @chelseahandler and @netflix docs — jonathan friedland (@jsf33) October 14, 2015
The company continues to diversify its content offerings. In his letter to Shareholders for the quarter published in The Hollywood Reporter, Hastings flaunted the success of Narcos', the network's latest hit.
"We are quickly becoming a global distribution platform for creators worldwide. Narcos, our latest original series, is a hit and is another fine example of a Netflix original - embraced by both critics and audiences and global in nature (bilingual, Brazilian director and star, U.S. and Latin American cast, shot in Colombia) with substantial viewing across all or territories."
This is certainly an intersting direction for the company.
