Netflix, the leader in global video-on-demand, continues to increase its subscribers by splashing out for local original content, personalising its service and experience globally.
The company is in discussions with top content creators in Thailand to make original content exclusively for Netflix.
"To increase Netflix content libraries, we plan to invest some US$8 billion [250 billion baht] in content this year, up from $6 billion in 2017, particularly in the original content category," said Greg Peters, chief of product for Netflix.
The company has over 20 countries running local content productions such as Germany, the UK, India and Japan. Original local content productions can reach a global audience, he said, as 90% of the viewers of the mystery drama Dark, made in Germany, came from outside Germany.
With the investment, there will be more than 700 Netflix original series and films released this year.
Netflix will spend more on marketing this year than in 2017, rising from $1.3 billion to $2 billion, to drive membership growth. It plans to increase technology and development investment to roughly $1.3 billion in 2018.
"We will select countries that have strong entertainment infrastructure and great storylines to produce Netflix originals. Thailand is one country that is in discussions," said Mr Peters.
Thailand has been a huge market for Netflix, said Reed Hastings, co-founder and chief executive of Netflix.
"We recently did a promotion deal by partnering with Advanced Info Service and that turned out to be very successful for both of us. By integrating with mobile operator partners we help them gain more members and [the strategy] helps us grow as well," he said.
According to Netflix statistics, in 2017 Thais ranked among the top downloaders in the world. The downloading feature, recently introduced by Netflix on mobile devices, facilitate on-the-go and uninterrupted viewing amid intermittent connectivity.
Thailand ranked in the top five globally for binge-watching Stranger Things 2 just 24 hours after it was released, and had the highest percentage of members watching a season of the TV show My Only Love Song within 24 hours of its global release.
Netflix has 117 million subscribers in over 190 countries, with over 50% of subscribers outside the US. Its content was streamed on 450 million devices globally, showing the average user has 3-5 connected devices.
"We designed the Netflix experience for each unique device based on the context around which users engage with that device. We use machine learning to provide personalisation for movie and TV recommendations suitable for each preference," said Mr Peters.
Mobile devices are the most common for users accessing Netflix in emerging countries. Globally, 30% of members use mobile devices to sign up for services. Thailand has 57.5%.
Globally, TV is the primary device for 70% of users, followed by computer, mobile, and tablets at 10%, 15% and 5%, respectively. In Thailand, TV is used by 34.3%, followed by computer, mobile, and tablet, at 29.7%, 22%, and 13%.
